title: Impact of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) on Brain Functional Marker of Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia Patients.
abstract: Several cross-sectional functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies reported a negative correlation between auditory verbal hallucination (AVH) severity and amplitude of the activations during language tasks. The present study assessed the time course of this correlation and its possible structural underpinnings by combining structural, functional MRI and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine schizophrenia patients with AVH (evaluated with the Auditory Hallucination Rating scale; AHRS) and nine healthy participants underwent two sessions of an fMRI speech listening paradigm. Meanwhile, patients received high frequency (20 Hz) rTMS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before rTMS, activations were negatively correlated with AHRS in a left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) cluster, considered henceforward as a functional region of interest (fROI). After rTMS, activations in this fROI no longer correlated with AHRS. This decoupling was explained by a significant decrease of AHRS scores after rTMS that contrasted with a relative stability of cerebral activations. A voxel-based-morphometry analysis evidenced a cluster of the left pSTS where grey matter volume negatively correlated with AHRS before rTMS and positively correlated with activations in the fROI at both sessions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  rTMS decreases the severity of AVH leading to modify the functional correlate of AVH underlain by grey matter abnormalities.
authors: CHU de Caen, Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie, Centre Esquirol, Caen 14000, France. razafima@cyceron.fr.
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Maïza
authors: Université de Bordeaux, GIN UMR 5296 CNRS CEA, Bordeaux 33076, France. pierre-yve.herve@u-bordeaux.fr.
authors: Pierre-Yve
authors: PY
authors: Hervé
authors: CHU de Caen, Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles du Système Nerveux, Caen 14000, France. etard-o@chu-caen.fr.
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Etard
authors: Université de Caen Basse Normandie, UMR 6301 CNRS CEA, Centre Cyceron, Caen 14074, France. razafima@cyceron.fr.
authors: Annick
authors: A
authors: Razafimandimby
authors: CHU de Caen, Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie, Centre Esquirol, Caen 14000, France. larmuriermontagne-a@chu-caen.fr.
authors: Aurélie
authors: A
authors: Montagne-Larmurier
authors: CHU de Caen, Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie, Centre Esquirol, Caen 14000, France. dollfus-s@chu-caen.fr.
authors: Sonia
authors: S
authors: Dollfus