Should we expand the toolbox of psychiatric methods to include rTMS? – 2010

Should we expand the toolbox of psychiatric treatment methods to include repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)? A meta-analysis of the efficacy of rTMS in psychiatric disorders.

Acknowledgement to the authors: Christina W. Slotema, MD; Jan Dirk Blom, MD, PhD; Hans W. Hoek, MD, PhD; and Iris E. C. Sommer, MD, PhD

Date: 2010

Should we expand the toolbox of psychiatric methods to include rTMS? (2010) Journal Clinical Psychiatry

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe treatment method with few side effects. However, efficacy for various psychiatric disorders is currently not clear.

Data sources: A literature search was performed
from 1966 through October 2008 using PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase Psychiatry, Cochrane Central Register
of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and PsycINFO. The following search terms were used: transcra- nial magnetic stimulation, TMS, repetitive TMS, psychiatry, mental disorder, psychiatric disorder, anxiety disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, catatonia, mania, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, Tourette’s syndrome, bulimia nervosa, and addiction.

Updated: 6 August 2025