Two Day Treatment of Auditory Hallucinations by High Frequency rTMS Guided by Cerebral Imaging: a 6 Months Follow-up Study

Newswise — Auditory hallucinations are one of the more disturbing features of schizophrenia, and tend to persist even when patients are treated with conventional medication treatments. Researchers from the University of Caen, France, report on a new treatment for hallucinations at the meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. They used a technique called Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation- rTMS, which sends magnetic pulses at high frequency (20 Hz) over the brain surface. By placing the pulses guided by anatomical and functional cerebral imaging over the auditory cortex where hallucinations are generated, they found a significant reduction in auditory hallucinations that lasted for nearly 2 weeks following the treatment; 2 patients were hallucination free after 6 months. While the study is still preliminary, it suggests the potential for 20 Hz- rTMS as a new, noninvasive approach to treatment of schizophrenia that is relatively safe and free of side effects.

Authors: S Dollfus, A Montagne-Larmurier, A Razafimandimby, R Morello, O EtardCentre Hospitalier Universitaire, Caen, France