A review of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation use in the treatment of schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia often fail to respond to standard antipsychotic medications or have a partial treatment response. Few treatment options are available for these patients. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was developed and investigated over the last 10 years as a potential treatment option for various psychiatric conditions. Increasingly, studies are focusing on potential applications of rTMS in schizophrenia. To date, most of these studies were symptom-specific rather than focused on the treatment of the disorder in general. The most extensive literature focuses on the use of low-frequency stimulation to attempt to disrupt or reduce the intensity of persistent refractory auditory hallucinations. This research tends to suggest that rTMS could have a role in this subset of patients. There is also preliminary but limited evidence that rTMS could have a role in reducing the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and perhaps in augmenting cognitive function. These findings also highlight the pressing need for further research including multisite studies to confirm the value of these options.