Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation add-on for the treatment of auditory hallucinations: a double-blind study.

Abstract

About 25% of schizophrenia patients with auditory hallucinations are refractory to pharmacotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy. We conducted a deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pilot study in order to evaluate the potential clinical benefit of repeated left temporoparietal cortex stimulation in these patients. The results were encouraging, but a sham-controlled study was needed to rule out a placebo effect.
A total of 18 schizophrenic patients with refractory auditory hallucinations were recruited, from Beer Yaakov MHC and other hospitals outpatient populations. Patients received 10 daily treatment sessions with low-frequency (1 Hz for 10 min) deep TMS applied over the left temporoparietal cortex, using the H1 coil at the intensity of 110% of the motor threshold. Procedure was either real or sham according to patient randomization. Patients were evaluated via the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms-Negative Symptoms, Clinical Global Impressions, and Quality of Life Questionnaire.
In all, 10 patients completed the treatment (10 TMS sessions). Auditory hallucination scores of both groups improved; however, there was no statistical difference in any of the scales between the active and the sham treated groups.
Low-frequency deep TMS to the left temporoparietal cortex using the protocol mentioned above has no statistically significant effect on auditory hallucinations or the other clinical scales measured in schizophrenic patients.
Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00564096.

Full text

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PRIMARY RESEARCHOpen Access
Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation add-on
for the treatment of auditory hallucinations: a
double-blind study
Oded Rosenberg1*, Roman Gersner2, Limor Dinur Klein1, Moshe Kotler1, Abraham Zangen3and Pinhas Dannon1
Abstract
Background: About 25% of schizophrenia patients with auditory hallucinations are refractory to pharmacotherapy
and electroconvulsive therapy. We conducted a deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pilot study in order
to evaluate the potential clinical benefit of repeated left temporoparietal cortex stimulation in these patients. The
results were encouraging, but a sham-controlled study was needed to rule out a placebo effect.
Methods: A total of 18 schizophrenic patients with refractory auditory hallucinations were recruited, from Beer
Yaakov MHC and other hospitals outpatient populations. Patients received 10 daily treatment sessions with low-
frequency (1 Hz for 10 min) deep TMS applied over the left temporoparietal cortex, using the H1 coil at the
intensity of 110% of the motor threshold. Procedure was either real or sham according to patient randomization.
Patients were evaluated via the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Positive
Symptoms-Negative Symptoms, Clinical Global Impressions, and Quality of Life Questionnaire.
Results: In all, 10 patients completed the treatment (10 TMS sessions). Auditory hallucination scores of both
groups improved; however, there was no statistical difference in any of the scales between the active and the
sham treated groups.
Conclusions: Low-frequency deep TMS to the left temporoparietal cortex using the protocol mentioned above has
no statistically significant effect on auditory hallucinations or the other clinical scales measured in schizophrenic
patients.
Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00564096.
Introduction
Auditory hallucinations are reported by 50% to 70% of
patients with schizophrenia, most of whom are success-
fully treated with antipsychotic medications. However,
25% to 30% of hallucinating schizophrenic patients are
refractory to antipsychotic medications, and these
patients suffer associated distress, functional disability,
lack of behavioral control [1], and violent behavior [2].
Auditory hallucinations have also been known in up to
25% of the cases to contribute to serious suicide
attempts [3]. Overactivation of the left temporoparietal
cortex, which is critical to speech perception and is
easilyaccessedthroughtranscranial magnetic
stimulation (TMS), has been implicated in the onset of
auditory hallucinations [4].
The first report of repetitive TMS (rTMS) treatment
for auditory hallucinations was described in 1999 by
Hoffman [5]. Since then, several studies have used
rTMS to treat auditory hallucinations in schizophrenic
patients, targeting almost exclusively the left temporo-
parietal cortex, with mixed results [1,2,4,6,7]. The ratio-
nale for stimulating the left temporoparietal cortex with
low frequency TMS is that imaging studies showed this
area to be active during auditory hallucinations and low
frequency TMS is thought to produce sustained reduc-
tions in neural excitability and brain activity in the sti-
mulated region [2].
The H1 coil, used for deep TMS, has been demon-
strated to be effective in the treatment of major
* Correspondence: odedaruna@gmail.com
1Beer Ya’acov Mental Health Center, Beer Ya’acov, Israel
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
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© 2012 Rosenberg et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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depression [8-12]. A feasibility study of deep TMS as an
add-on for treatment of negative symptoms and cogni-
tive deficits in schizophrenia suggests that excitatory
TMS applied to the prefrontal cortex might improve
frontal lobe-related cognitive functions [13].
Deep TMS coils are designed to allow stimulation of
deeper brain areas through the summation of separate
fields projected into the skull from several points around
its periphery [14]. The device is designed to minimize
the accumulation of electrical charge on the surface of
the brain, which can give rise to an electrostatic field
that might reduce the magnitude of the induced electric
field both at the surface and inside, reducing the depth
of penetration of the induced electric field [15]. In an
open label study [16] we previously examined the effi-
cacy of deep TMS over the left temporoparietal cortex
for the treatment of refractory auditory hallucinations in
schizophrenic patients. Results were encouraging, but
required a double-blind sham-controlled confirmation
study.
Materials and methods
Participants
A total of 18 participants, 14 men and 4 women, were
recruited for the study through outpatient clinics
throughout Israel. All patients gave written informed
consent to take part in the study, which was approved
by the Beer-Yaakov ethics committee and Ministry of
Health.
Inclusion criteria were: aged between 18 and 65, abil-
ity to give informed consent, meeting Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition
text revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for schizophrenia,
experiencing auditory hallucinations at least five times
per day, and taking a stable antipsychotic medication for
at least 1 month prior to enrollment.
Eligible patients were randomized and assigned to
either sham or real treatment. Patients as well as raters
were blind to the type of treatment being given (real/
sham). The stimulator was connected to a card reader.
Magnetic cards coded for real/sham treatment were
used. When a new patient was enrolled, a card was cho-
sen randomly from the pack of cards.
Real deep TMS group
The ages of participants in the group that received real
deep TMS ranged between 19 and 63 years (average age
was 40.8 ± 16.6). Eight were outpatients and one was an
inpatient. The patients’ hallucinations had persisted for
an average of 4.4 (± 4.6) years prior to enrollment,
despite adequate trials with an average of 4.1 (± 2) anti-
psychotic medications prior to study entry. The average
age of disease onset was 26.4 (± 12.3) and the number
of past hospitalizations averaged 3.7 (± 2.7).
Sham deep TMS group
The ages of the sham group ranged between 22 and 63
years (average age was 38.4 ± 12.6). All were outpatients.
Patients’ hallucinations had persisted for an average of 9.2
(± 9.7) years, despite adequate trials with an average of 6.1
(± 2.4) antipsychotic medications prior to study entry. The
average age of disease onset was 21.4 (± 7.7) and the num-
ber of past hospitalizations averaged 5.3 (± 6).
All participants were on antipsychotic medication dur-
ing the study, with medication dosage kept stable
throughout the study. Demographic data for all patients
is presented in Tables 1 and 2. No significant differences
were observed between the groups at baseline.
Deep TMS procedure
We performed the treatments with a Brainsway H1 coil
(Brainsway, Jerusalem, Israel), which has been tested in
a safety study with healthy volunteers [17], and in a clin-
ical study for the treatment of major depression [10].
The H1 coil’s detailed configuration and electric field
distribution maps have been described [18]. Stimulation
was applied using Brainsway’s H1 coil connected to a
Magstim Rapid2stimulator (Magstim company limited,
Carmarthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom). The resting
motor threshold for each participant was obtained by
stimulation of the left motor cortex, and defined as the
minimum stimulator output intensity which caused a
motor response, that is, twitching of the contralateral
abductor policis brevis (APB) muscle in the hand.
The coil was then moved 4.5 cm posteriorly and 6.5 cm
laterally towards the left shoulder of the patient. In this
position, the maximal electric field produced by the coil
is concentrated at the left temporoparietal cortex [16].
Patients were treated with deep H-coil TMS applied to
the left temporoparietal cortex for 10 days (one session
per day), with each session lasting 10 minutes. Treat-
ment frequency was 1 Hz and the treatment intensity
applied was 110% of the motor threshold.
Sham deep TMS
Placebo stimulation was performed with a sham coil
placed in the same helmet encasing the active TMS coil.
An electronic system controlled which of the two coils
was connected to the stimulator in a certain session.
This operation was carried out by a magnetic card spe-
cific to each patient so that both the patient and the
operator remained blind to the operation mode. The
sham coil produces a similar acoustic artifact and scalp
sensation as the active coil, and can also mimic the
facial muscle activation induced by the active coil. How-
ever the sham coil induces an electric field of less than
30% of the size of the field induced by the real coil
inside the brain itself, due to a very rapid reduction of
the field as a function of distance insured by the non-
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tangential orientation of the sham coil relative to the
scalp and by elements producing significant field
cancellation.
Patient assessment
Screening
Diagnoses were performed by trained psychiatrists using
a semistructured clinical interview based on DSM-IV-
TR criteria (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM
(SCID), version 2), during which patients’ main demo-
graphic and clinical characteristics were collected.
Efficacy
Each patient was evaluated within 24 h before the first
TMS session, and within 24 h after the last TMS ses-
sion, using the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale
(AHRS) [2], the Scale for the Assessment of Positive
Table 1 Demographic table of participants in Sham arm.
Patient Age Sex Diagnosis Education
(Years)
Status Number of antipsychotic
medications to which
Auditory hallucinations
were resistant
Time elapsed since
present episode of
Auditory
hallucinations started
(Years)
Number of
past
hospitalizations
Age of
Disease
onset
2-21863 male Schizophrenia 8Ambulatory
patient
1010 2018
4-21843 maleSchizophrenia 12 Ambulatory
patient
8 107 33
218-6 47female Schizophrenia 8Ambulatory
patient
6 322 15
218-7 46 male Schizophrenia 8 Ambulatory
patient
826 35
218-933 maleSchizophrenia 12Ambulatory
patient
413 19
218-1032maleSchizophrenia 9 Ambulatory
patient
5 0.13 15
218-1426maleSchizophrenia 12 Ambulatory
patient
260 20
218-15 34maleSchizophrenia 14 Ambulatory
patient
586 24
218-16 22maleSchizophrenia 7 Ambulatory
patient
7141 14
Table 2 Demographic table of participants in real arm.
Patient Age Sex DiagnosisEducation
(Years)
StatusNumber of antipsychotic
medications to which
Auditory hallucinations
were resistant
Time elapsed since
present episode of
Auditory
hallucinations started
(Years)
Number of
past
hospitalizations
Age of
Disease
onset
218-262 female Schizophrenia 13Hospitalized69353
218-1119 maleSchizophrenia 10 Ambulatory
patient
10.5118
218-1220 maleSchizophrenia 12Ambulatory
patient
3 0.5219
218-17 35maleSchizophrenia 12 Ambulatory
patient
28127
218-18 38male Schizophrenia 12Ambulatory
patient
4 12318
218-1948female Schizophrenia 18Ambulatory
patient
6No Data5 37
218-21 42maleSchizophrenia 8Ambulatory
patient
324 18
218-2263 maleSchizophrenia 12 Ambulatory
patient
70.3532
218-2326 male Schizophrenia 10Ambulatory
patient
531016
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Symptoms (SAPS), the Scale for the Assessment of
Negative Symptoms (SANS), the Clinical Global Impres-
sions scale (CGI), and the Quality of Life Enjoyment
and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q).
Safety
Adverse events (AEs) were evaluated during each study
visit through communication with the patients.
Statistical analysis
Results are presented as means ± SD. Differences
between real and sham stimulation before and after
treatment were determined by repeated-measures analy-
sis of variance (ANOVA). Significant effects were found
by Fisher’s least significant difference post hoc test. All
analysis was performed with Statistica 8.0. A P value of
< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Completer characteristics
Out of 18 patients, 10 (5 from each group) completed
the study. Non-significant differences between the sham
group to the real group in their clinical backgrounds
were found, as outlined below.
In the sham group hallucinations had persisted for an
average of 10 (± 12.8) years as opposed to 6.2 (± 4.9) in
the real group. Auditory hallucinations of patients in the
sham group were resistant to an average of 5.8 (± 2.5)
antipsychotic medications compared to 4.4 (± 2) in the
real group. In the sham group the average age of disease
onset was 23.6 (± 9.7) compared to 29.6 (± 14.4) in the
real group. The average number of past hospitalizations
was 3.6 (± 2.8) in the sham group compared to 3.2 (±
1.4) in the real group.
Detailed dropout reasons
The dropout rate was 44% in both the real and sham
groups. In the real deep TMS group, four patients out
of nine dropped out: one patient after four sessions
because of a delusional thought (saying that the mag-
netic coil was ‘pulling out his brain’), a second patient
dropped out after two sessions because he was ‘unable
to tolerate the treatment’, and a third patient dropped
out after six sessions due to worsening psychotic symp-
toms (the patient became afraid of the stimulator). The
participation of the fourth patient in the study was
halted after nine sessions because of psychotic exacerba-
tion. Of the five patients in the real deep TMS group
that finished treatment, one did not complete the Q-
LES-Q.
In the sham deep TMS group, four patients out of
nine dropped out: one patient dropped out after four
sessions after developing obsessive thoughts towards his
treating psychiatrist as well as the desire to cut his
wrists, saying he wanted to be admitted to the hospital
and stop participating in the study. Another patient
dropped out after two sessions claiming he could not
stand the hitting of the coil against his scalp. A third
patient dropped out after two sessions, as he had delu-
sions that the coil was disfiguring his head. The fourth
patient was reluctant to continue his participation after
the fourth session (without any reasonable or psychotic
explanation).
Patients that dropped out of either group were
excluded from analysis.
Efficacy measurements
Statistics included all study completers (10 patients).
The AHRS score post treatment was compared to the
score prior to treatment. Minor decreases in auditory
hallucinations were observed in both groups. AHRS
scores were reduced from 25.6 ± 6.5 to 22.6 ± 6.2 in the
active treatment group, and from 26.6 ± 6.5 to 23 ± 5.8
in the sham treatment group (Figure 1A). Repeated-
measures ANOVA of AHRS with treatment as the
between-subjects factor and time as the within-subjects
factor revealed a significant main effect of time (F(1,8) =
5.54, P = 0.046) and no significant effects of group or
interactions between the factors. Post hoc analysis did
not show significant differences between the groups and
indicated a non-significant tendency to decrease AHRS
after either real or sham stimulation.
SAPS, SANS, CGI and Q-LES-Q scores post treatment
were compared to the score prior to treatment. No dif-
ference was observed in either group for all measures
(Figure 1B-E). Repeated-measures ANOVA with treat-
ment as the between-subjects factor and time as the
within-subjects factor did not reveal significant main
effects of time, group, or time × group interaction.
Adverse events
One patient suffered from mild and self-limiting head-
aches after the first two treatments. She did not use
analgesics. Apart from that no side effects were
observed.
Discussion
We have tested deep rTMS treatment as an add-on to
medication for refractory auditory hallucinations. The
main finding of this study is that low-frequency deep
transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left temporo-
parietal cortex given in the protocol mentioned above
had no statistically significant effect on auditory
hallucinations.
These findings are in agreement with Loo et al.’s find-
ings [19], which suggested based on examinations of
individually-controlled trials that a substantial propor-
tion of rTMS studies of the treatment of auditory hallu-
cinations did not find rTMS to be superior to sham
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stimulations. Our findings also correlate with a double-
blind, randomized, sham-controlled study of 62 patients
completed in March 2011 [20], which concluded that
low-frequency rTMS administered to the left temporo-
parietal cortex (shown to be the site of maximal halluci-
natory activation) is not more effective for medication-
resistant auditory hallucinations than sham treatment.
Tranulis et al. [21] conducted a meta-analytic study of
10 sham-controlled studies of low-frequency rTMS over
the left temporoparietal cortex and found a medium sta-
tistical effect size. They reached the conclusion that
rTMS is an effective tool as a complementary treatment
for auditory hallucinations. On account of this contra-
dictory data, the efficacy of low frequency rTMS over
the left temporoparietal region is a matter that deserves
further investigation.
It is important to note that the distribution of the H1
coil’s magnetic field is both deeper and wider than the
traditional figure-eight coil used in previous studies [22].
The H coils induce an effective field at a depth of
approximately 3 cm below the skull, compared to less
than 1.5 cm for the standard TMS figure-eight coil [22].
We would expect the H coil used in this study to be
more effective than a figure-eight coil in treating audi-
tory hallucinations due to its deeper penetration into
the brain and because subcortical structures (the thala-
mus, for example) may be involved in the generation of
auditory hallucinations [23]. However, we failed to
achieve statistically or clinically meaningful improve-
ments. One possible theoretical explanation may be that
low frequency stimulation of subcortical structures
counteracts effective stimulation of cortical zones (for
example, the temporoparietal region).
The results of this study contradict our original open
study [16] using the same deep TMS coil applied over
the same location and using similar treatment para-
meters. This contradiction may stem from the fact that
the placebo effect probably caused the positive results in
the open study [16]. The placebo effect was weakened
in this study because patients were oblivious to the kind
of treatment (real/sham) they were given.
There are a few possible explanations for the ineffi-
cacy of the TMS presented in this study. The left tem-
poroparietal cortex may not be the origin of auditory
hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia, a possibi-
lity that may be supported by the fact that functional
imaging studies showed increased activation of the right
brain area in some patients suffering from auditory hal-
lucinations. Other reasons may be inadequate/insuffi-
cient treatment parameters (including frequency, session
duration, number of sessions, total pulses, or stimulation
pattern).
The major limitation of our study is the small sample
size. The negative result of this study may be false on
account of the small sample size.
Conclusions
Our study suggests that 10 sessions of low frequency
deep TMS to the left temporoparietal cortex, given as
add-on treatment to medication for refractory auditory
Figure 1 Clinical measurements. Data are presented as mean ± SD of Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale (AHRS) (A), Scale for the
Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) (B), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) (C), Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale
(D), and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) (E).
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hallucinations, is ineffective in ameliorating auditory hal-
lucinations in schizophrenic patients. Larger trials are
needed to establish this conclusion, since the validity of
the result is weakened by our small sample size.
Author details
1Beer Ya’acov Mental Health Center, Beer Ya’acov, Israel.2Department of
Neurology, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
3Department of Life Science, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Authors’ contributions
OR participated in deep transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments
described in the text, participated in writing the basic draft of the paper and
rewriting the text according to coauthors suggestions, participated in
writing the Discussion and Conclusions, and participated in clinical
evaluations. RG participated by making extensive suggestions, advised on
the Background, Methods, Discussion and Conclusions and conducted
statistical analyses. LDK conducted evaluations and participated in writing
the manuscript. MK participated in final approval of the manuscript. AZ
participated by making extensive suggestions, advised on the Background,
Methods, Discussion and Conclusions, and guided the paper scientifically.
PD participated by contributing remarks and suggestions to the text,
including the Discussion and Conclusions, supervised the DTMS sessions
closely and conducted part of the deep transcranial magnetic stimulation
treatments. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Competing interests
PD and OR received an unrestricted educational grant for deep TMS
treatment research from the Brainsway Company. RG is a scientific
consultant of the Brainsway Company. AZ serves as a research consultant
and has financial interest in the Brainsway Company. MK has no conflict of
interest. LDK has no conflict of interest.
Received: 4 January 2012 Accepted: 6 May 2012 Published: 6 May 2012
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doi:10.1186/1744-859X-11-13
Cite this article as: Rosenberg et al.: Deep transcranial magnetic
stimulation add-on for the treatment of auditory hallucinations: a
double-blind study. Annals of General Psychiatry 2012 11:13.
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