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Effect of Individualized Precise TMS on Emotional Blunting in Depression and Its Brain Imaging Mechanism

Study on the Effect and Brain Influence Mechanism of Individualized Precise Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Based on Image Analysis on Emotional Blunting in Depression

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05555940
Enrollment
80
Registered
2022-09-27
Start date
2022-10-01
Completion date
2024-11-30
Last updated
2026-04-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depression

Keywords

emotional blunting, transcranial magnetic stimulation

Brief summary

This study aims to explore and investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of individualized localization of transcranial magnetic stimulation on emotional blunting of depression, improve the understanding of the mechanism of emotional blunting of depression, order to provide new treatment methods and better curative effects for this disease.

Detailed description

Depression is a common mental illness. The traditional treatment is medication, but many patients do not respond well to medication and have side effects such as emotional blunting. emotional blunting is a numbness to both positive and negative emotions. It is estimated that about 40% to 60% of depressed patients who use serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or 5-HT and norepinephrine (NE) reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) have varying degrees of affective retardation. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe and non-invasive method for the treatment of depression. Its clinical efficacy is related to the accuracy of the stimulation target. How to carry out individualized accurate positioning is of great significance for improving the therapeutic effect.

Interventions

DEVICETranscranial magnetic stimulation

The stimulation sites of the true TMS group were mPFC-amygdala functional junction and SSRIs/SNRIs treatment, while the sham TMS group was treated with reversed magnetic head sham stimulation and SSRIs/SNRIs treatment.

Sponsors

Xijing Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* (1) Outpatients of all genders, aged ≥18 years and ≤65 years, right-handed, admitted to the psychosomatic Department of Xijing Hospital; (2) In accordance with the diagnostic criteria for the depressive disorder of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V)). (3) Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS): total MADRS score ≥12; (4) The total score of the Oxford Depression Questionnaire (ODQ) at baseline was ≥50, and the answer to the standardized screening question of emotional blunting was "yes"; (5) Received at least 6 weeks of monotherapy with an SSRI or SNRI prior to enrollment; (6) Subjects who can understand and are willing to strictly follow the clinical trial protocol to complete this study and sign informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

* (1) Have a history of substance abuse within 6 months before the start of the study; (2) Patients with bipolar disorder and depression caused by other mental diseases (such as psychoactive substances and non-dependent substances); (3) Have a history of somatic severe diseases or diseases that may affect the central nervous system (such as tumors, syphilis, etc.); (4) Have neurological diseases or risk of seizures, such as previous brain diseases, head trauma, alcoholism, EEG abnormalities, MRI evidence of abnormal brain structure, or family history of epilepsy; (5) There are contraindications to MRI scanning or transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment, such as metal or electronic instruments (intracranial metal foreign bodies, cochlear implants, cardiac pacemakers, stents, and other metal foreign bodies); (6) Have obvious suicide risk, or have actual suicide behavior within 6 months before the start of the study; (7) Pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning pregnancy during the trial; (8) Other conditions that are not suitable for the study object in the researcher's judgment.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes from Baseline on Oxford Depression Questionnaire scores during treatment and at each follow-up point.At baseline, at the end of treatment on day 7, at the end of treatment on day 15, 2 weeks after treatment, 4 weeks after treatment, and 8 weeks after treatmentThe Oxford Depression Questionnaire(ODQ) is a relatively new tool for assessing emotional retardation, a self-rating scale.It includes three sections and 26 questions, focusing on the emotional experience of patients in the past week.Each question is scored on a 5-point scale from 1 (disagree) to 5 (agree). And summarized into a score for each dimension and a total score (total score range: 26-130). The higher the value on ODQ, the higher the level of emotional blunting.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes from Baseline on Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores or other clinical scales during treatment and at each follow-up point.At baseline,at the end of treatment on day 7, at the end of treatment on day 15, 2 weeks after treatment, 4 weeks after treatment, and 8 weeks after treatmentThere are 10 items in the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale(MADRS), and each item is divided into 6 levels according to the identity level, with a score of 0-6 points. The total score of patients is 0-60. The higher the score of patients, the more severe the depression.
Changes of MRI from baseline to the end of 15 day treatment period.Before treatment, 15 daysBefore and after treatment, MRI is performed for each patient to measure the blood oxygen level of each brain region, from which the functional connectivity between brain regions could be statistically obtained, and then the differences of the functional connectivity before and treatment are compared.

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 24, 2026