title: rTMS for PTSD: induced merciful oblivion or elimination of abnormal hypermnesia?
abstract: Neuroimaging studies and experimental data suggest that symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with dysfunctions of neural circuits linking prefrontal cortex and the limbic system that have a role in autobiographic episodic memory. High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been suggested to be beneficial to patients with PTSD, transiently alleviating re-experiencing as well as avoidance reactions and associated anxiety symptoms. In healthy humans, converging evidence suggests that rTMS of the right DLPFC interferes with episodic memory retrieval. Hence, we hypothesize that daily applications of rTMS in PTSD patients may reduce access to the set of autobiographical stored events, that, if re-experienced, may cause the overt PTSD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione Neurologia, Università di Siena, Policlinico le Scotte, Viale Bracci, I-53100, Siena, Italy. Rossisimo@unisi.it
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Stefano F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Cappa
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ulivelli
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Capua
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bartalini
authors.forename: Paolo M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Rossini
mesh_terms: D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*