Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia are core components of schizophrenia that remain a clinical conundrum. It accounts for a large part of long-term disability and poor functional outcomes in patients with the disorder. The treatment options for the negative symptoms and cognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia continue to be limited despite recent psychopharmacology advancements. A functional abnormality in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and non-invasive neurostimulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has been mooted as an add-on treatment option in the amelioration of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. This study aims to review the published studies regarding Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to alleviate the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. 52 relevant articles were found from PubMed and Google Scholar using the following Mesh terms' Schizophrenia', 'Negative symptoms of schizophrenia, 'Transcranial magnetic stimulation, and 'Treatment' and 35 relevant articles were selected after a thorough screening process. The available evidence indicates that transcranial magnetic stimulation has found a root in the treatment of conditions such as depression, migraine, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and anxiety. There have been indicators from trials that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) could have a role in improving negative symptoms of schizophrenia, particularly when used as an adjunct to established pharmacological treatment. However, the current findings have been inconsistent with a relatively small sample size; hence larger multicenter studies may be required to prove the treatment significance before it becomes a mainstream and acceptable treatment option.