The effectiveness of the repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) with low frequency in reducing symptoms of depression comorbid in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Subject Areas : Thoughts and Behavior in Clinical Psychology

Somayeh Ghiasi ¹ , Mohammad Reza Naeeinian ² , Reza Rostami ³ , Rasool Roshan ⁴ , Reza Kazemi ⁵ , Sanaz Khomami ⁶

1 - دپارتمان روان شناسی بالینی، دانشگاه شاهد، تهران، ایران
2 - دپارتمان روانشناسی بالینی، دانشگاه شاهد، تهران، ایران
3 - دپارتمان روانشناسی بالینی، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
4 - دپارتمان روانشناسی بالینی، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
5 - دپارتمان روانشناسی عمومی، دانشگاه لرستان، خرم آباد، ایران
6 - دپارتمان روانشناسی عمومی، دانشگاه شهید چمران اهواز، اهواز، ایران

Received: 2014-11-28 Accepted : 2014-11-28 Published : 2014-06-22

Keywords: depression, Magnetic stimulation therapy, generalized anxiety disorder,

Abstract :

Generalized anxiety disorder has been associated with several disorders, it accompanies serious problems and deficiencies in the working lives of those afflicted with it. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) with low frequency in reducing symptoms of depression comorbid in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).For this purpose, in a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, 14 patients with generalized anxiety disorder using convenience sampling were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Subjects were assessed for depression and generalized anxiety disorder, both before and after the treatment. The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of rTMS, on the right side of the Posterolateral pre-frontal region, in duration of 40 minutes with frequency of 1 Hertz. The control group received the same number of sessions   except that the coil in the group was placed in an angle of 90 degrees, which prevented the waves from reaching to the subject’s skull. Mann-Whitney U analysis indicated that the rate of comorbid depression in the experimental group compared to the control group had a significant change. It appears that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy in Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder can significantly decrease comorbid depressive symptoms.