Efficacy and Safety Assessment of Temporal Interference Stimulation to Improve Bipolar Depression

Efficacy and Safety Assessment of Temporal Interference Stimulation to Improve Bipolar Depression: a Randomized Controlled Study

The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy and safety of temporal interference stimulation to improve bipolar depression, as well as to explore the corresponding neuroimaging mechanisms using magnetic resonance and electroencephalogram to provide novel intervention protocols and objective indicators of efficacy prediction for depressive episodes in bipolar disorder.

Inclusion Criteria:

• right-handed, and have completed nine years of compulsory education;
• Meet the diagnostic criteria for bipolar depression in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5);
• ≥18 points on the Hamilton Depression Inventory (HAMD- 17);
• ≤8 points on the Young's Mania Rating Scale (YMRS);
• Subjects who have not been treated with psychiatric medication, or those who have been treated with medication are required to undergo medication washout within 2 weeks before randomization;
• Subjects/legal guardians are willing to cooperate with the treatment and sign an informed consent form after they have fully understood the Temporal Interference Stimulation (TI).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Contraindications to magnetic resonance scanning (MRI) or time-interference stimulation (TI), such as the presence of metallic or electronic devices in the body (intracranial metallic foreign bodies, cochlear implants, pacemakers and stents, and other metallic foreign bodies);
• Prior or current electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current therapy (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), or other neurostimulation;
• Pregnant and lactating women, and women of childbearing age with a positive urine pregnancy;
• Possesses a diagnosis of another major psychiatric disorder that has been assessed by the study investigator as a major disorder that results in more impairment than a diagnosis of bipolar disorder;
• Co-morbid other psychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders, anxiety spectrum disorders, mental retardation, substance dependence (abuse), etc.; Has active suicidal ideation (≥ 4 points on item 10 of the MADRS);
• Risk of serious injury to self or others;
• History of serious physical illness or disease that may affect the central nervous system;
• Risk of neurologic disorders or seizures, such as previous craniosynostosis, cranial trauma, abnormal electroencephalograms, magnetic resonance evidence of structural abnormalities of the brain, or family history of epilepsy.