Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Speech Processing Brain Areas in Schizophrenic Patients Who Hear "Voices"
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Speech Processing Brain Areas in Schizophrenic Patients Who Hear "Voices"
OBJECTIVES:
I. Determine the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on treatment refractory auditory hallucinations of patients with schizophrenia.
PROTOCOL OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double blind study. Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms.
Group I: Patients receive 9 sessions of active transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) which consists of 8 minutes of rTMS during session 1, 12 minutes duration during session 2, and 16 minutes duration during sessions 3-9. The total duration of stimulation is 132 minutes. Each session was given on a separate day and in general each session occurred on consecutive days with the exception of weekends.
Group II: Patients receive 9 sessions of sham stimulation, which consists of 8 minutes of sham stimulation during session 1, 12 minutes duration sham stimulation during session 2, and 16 minutes duration sham stimulation during sessions 3-9. The total duration of sham stimulation is 132 minutes. Each session was given conducted on a separate day and in general each session occured on consecutive days with the exception of weekends.
This study provided pilot data supplying the basis for our current study - NCT00308997 -- see our website for details
PROTOCOL ENTRY CRITERIA:
Inclusion criteria:
Exclusion criteria: