title: The effect of one left-sided dorsolateral prefrontal sham-controlled HF-rTMS session on approach and withdrawal related emotional neuronal processes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is frequently used to examine emotional changes in healthy volunteers, it remains largely unknown how rTMS is able to influence emotion.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this sham-controlled, single-blind crossover study using fMRI, we examined in 20 right-handed healthy females whether a single high frequency (HF)-rTMS session applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex could influence emotional processing while focussing on blocks of positively and negatively valenced baby faces.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While positive information was being processed, we observed after one active HF-rTMS session enhanced neuronal activity in the left superior frontal cortex and right inferior parietal cortex. After sham HF-rTMS, we found significant decreases in neuronal activity in the left superior frontal cortex, the left inferior prefrontal cortex, as well as in the right posterior cingulate gyrus. When negative information was processed, one active stimulation attenuated neuronal activity in the right insula only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that during the processing of positive information one active session enhanced the ability to empathize with the depicted emotional stimuli, while during the processing of negative information it resulted in decreased psychophysiological reactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide new information on the working mechanism of left-sided HF-rTMS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, UZ Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium. chris.baeken@uzbrussel.be
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baeken
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Schuerbeek
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Raedt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Mey
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vanderhasselt
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bossuyt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luypaert
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D055815:Young Adult