Citation

Gouveia FV, Gidyk DC, Giacobbe P, Ng E, Meng Y, Davidson B, Abrahao A, Lipsman N, Hamani C. Brain Sci. 2019; 9(2): e9020045.

Affiliation

Division of Neurosurgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada. Clement.Hamani@sunnybrook.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Switzerland Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) AG)

DOI

10.3390/brainsci9020045

PMID

30791469

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an often debilitating disease with a lifetime prevalence rate between 5⁻8%. In war veterans, these numbers are even higher, reaching approximately 10% to 25%. Although most patients benefit from the use of medications and psychotherapy, approximately 20% to 30% do not have an adequate response to conventional treatments. Neuromodulation strategies have been investigated for various psychiatric disorders with promising results, and may represent an important treatment option for individuals with difficult-to-treat forms of PTSD. We review the relevant neurocircuitry and preclinical stimulation studies in models of fear and anxiety, as well as clinical data on the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of PTSD.

Language: en

Keywords

deep brain stimulation; fear extinction; post-traumatic stress disorder; transcranial direct current stimulation; transcranial magnetic stimulation