Journal: Psychiatry Research (2013)
Authors: Rosenberg O, Klein LD, Dannon PN
Background:
Pathological gambling is classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, as an impulse- control disorder. Several studies showed positive preliminary results using TMS to treat addictions. Because TMS is a potential treatment for addictions, and because frontal cortex activity may be abnormal in pathological gamblers compared with controls, we decided to use TMS to stimulate the prefrontal cortex.
Objective:
To stimulate the left PFC of pathological gamblers with an inhibitory frequency of 1 Hz.
Methods:
Five patients were treated using deep H-coil TMS to the left prefrontal cortex for 15 days (one session/day) with each session lasting 10 min. Treatment frequency was 1 Hz and treatment intensity applied was 110% of the motor threshold. Evaluations included rating scales and collateral anamnesis.
Results:
Despite initial improvement in ratings, collateral anamnesis demonstrated failure to respond. DTMS to the pre-frontal cortex using an H1 coil was an ineffective treatment.
Conclusions:
We found that deep rTMS directed over the PFC using an H1 type coil does not appear to be an effective treatment for pathological gambling. However, our study is a preliminary one, and additional studies are required before definitive conclusions can be drawn.
Full Publication: Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of pathological gambling – ScienceDirect
