The theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right PFC affects electroencephalogram oscillation during emotional processing.
Author: Cao D1, Li Y2, Niznikiewicz MA3, Tang Y4, Wang J5
Affiliation:
1School of Communication and Information Engineering, Qianweichang College, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
2School of Communication and Information Engineering, Qianweichang College, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China. Electronic address: liyj@i.shu.edu.cn.
3Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston VA Healthcare System, Brockton Division and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02301, United States. Electronic address: Margaret_Niznikiewicz@hms.harvard.edu.
4Shanghai Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China. Electronic address: yytang0522@gmail.com.
5Shanghai Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
Conference/Journal: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry.
Date published: 2017 Dec 11
Other:
Pages: S0278-5846(17)30400-1 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.12.005. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 292
Prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in emotional processing and therefore is one of the most frequently targeted regions for non-invasive brain stimulation such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in clinical trials, especially in the treatment of emotional disorders. As an approach to enhance the effectiveness of rTMS, continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) has been demonstrated to be efficient and safe. However, it is unclear how cTBS affects brain processes related to emotion. In particular, psychophysiological studies on the underlying neural mechanisms are sparse. In the current study, we investigated how the cTBS influences emotional processing when applied over the right PFC. Participants performed an emotion recognition Go/NoGo task, which asked them to select a GO response to either happy or fearful faces after the cTBS or after sham stimulation, while 64-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. EEG oscillation was examined using event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) in a time-interval between 170 and 310ms after face stimuli onset. In the sham group, we found a significant difference in the alpha band between response to happy and fearful stimuli but that effect did not exist in the cTBS group. The alpha band activity at the scalp was reduced suggesting the excitatory effect at the brain level. The beta and gamma band activity was not sensitive to cTBS intervention. The results of the current study demonstrate that cTBS does affect emotion processing and the effect is reflected in changes in EEG oscillations in the alpha band specifically. The results confirm the role of prefrontal cortex in emotion processing. We also suggest that this pattern of cTBS results elucidates mechanisms by which mood improvement in depressive disorders is achieved using cTBS intervention.
KEYWORDS: EEG oscillations; ERSP; Emotional processing; Hemispheric asymmetry; cTBS
PMID: 29241839 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.12.005
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