Trial of 80 Patients Finds Brain Stimulation Cuts Depression Scores by 4.19 Points
Updated
Updated · Neurology Advisor · Jul 15
Trial of 80 Patients Finds Brain Stimulation Cuts Depression Scores by 4.19 Points
1 articles · Updated · Neurology Advisor · Jul 15
Summary
A double-blind randomized trial of 80 adults with major depressive disorder found active transcranial pulse stimulation produced a significantly larger drop in depression severity than sham treatment.
Twelve sessions targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex cut Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores by a mean 4.19 points more than sham; 74 participants completed treatment.
Resting-state fMRI linked the clinical benefit to stronger functional connectivity within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and between it and orbitofrontal, medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, precuneus and calcarine regions.
The study, conducted from June 2023 to October 2025 and published July 6 in JAMA Network Open, said the results support testing more sessions and refined targeting in future work.
Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and medical-technology industries, a standard conflict-of-interest note for interpreting the findings.