BACKGROUND: Study results on cognitive effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy people are inconsistent. Moreover, former trials performed exclusively single-session stimulations. This sham-controlled study analyzed the influence of 9 serial high-frequency rTMS on cognition. METHODS: 44 young healthy male volunteers received active or sham rTMS. We evaluated verbal fluency tasks, the Ruff Figural Fluency Test and different Test for Attentional Performance tasks (alertness, go/no-go, divided attention, working memory, flexibility) prior to the first stimulation, immediately (within 5-30 min) after stimulation on day 5 and on day 10 (1 day after the last stimulation). RESULTS: Overall, our statistical analyses revealed no significant cognitive effects of serial rTMS. CONCLUSION: In this sham-controlled study design, 9 serial rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (targeted by the 5-cm rule) did neither enhance nor impair the assessed cognitive functions in healthy male volunteers.
BACKGROUND: Study results on cognitive effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy people are inconsistent. Moreover, former trials performed exclusively single-session stimulations. This sham-controlled study analyzed the influence of 9 serial high-frequency rTMS on cognition. METHODS: 44 young healthy male volunteers received active or sham rTMS. We evaluated verbal fluency tasks, the Ruff Figural Fluency Test and different Test for Attentional Performance tasks (alertness, go/no-go, divided attention, working memory, flexibility) prior to the first stimulation, immediately (within 5-30 min) after stimulation on day 5 and on day 10 (1 day after the last stimulation). RESULTS: Overall, our statistical analyses revealed no significant cognitive effects of serial rTMS. CONCLUSION: In this sham-controlled study design, 9 serial rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (targeted by the 5-cm rule) did neither enhance nor impair the assessed cognitive functions in healthy male volunteers.