Investigation of the Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Cognition in Depression

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is prescribed as first-line treatment for TRD patients (4). rTMS is safe, tolerable and non-invasive neurostimulation procedure where powerful magnetic pulses are transmitted through the skull into the underlying cortical cortex with the aim of electrical current induction within the neural tissue. This study administers a standard dose of rTMS treatment to the TRD patient sample consisting of high frequency deep TMS (HF-dTMS) stimulation over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC), at the frequency of 18Hz, at 120% value of the individual's motor threshold, in 5 daily sessions per week, taking place each weekday, over the course of 6 weeks. The technology of dTMS, which will be used in this study, is an adaptation of the therapeutic intervention of rTMS with the advancement of possessing higher efficacy in targeting deeper brain regions of interest.