Among some of the more severe mental disorders is Schizophrenia, which is characterized by serious changes to a person’s thoughts and behavior. The disorder is best known in popular culture by it’s psychotic symptoms, such as affected individuals hearing voices that are not there. Known as Auditory Verbal Hallucinations, these types of hallucinations are experienced by nearly 70% of those with the disorder, and can be absolutely terrifying for those that have them. Thus, many treatments for the disorder focus on the quieting of these voices, such as antipsychotic drugs. The causes of schizophrenia are generally not well understood, though it is commonly believed that an imbalance in dopamine may play a role amongst other things, such as damage to myelin sheaths being a potential cause.
In an attempt to further treatment, a research team at the University of Caen in France worked with schizophrenic patients to see if Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) could lessen the voices being heard. TMS is a method used in neuroscience to temporarily alter brain function utilizing a strong magnetic field, and can be precisely tuned to a specific brain region using methods such MRI. The team gave 26 patients TMS treatment and 33 other patients a sham treatment, and tested them using the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale to keep track of the voices they were hearing. Those in treatment received 20 Hz high-frequency pulses for 2 sessions a day for 2 days. The team was able to target the treatment to a part of the left side of the brain in the temporal lobe. The article states that said area is associated with language, which is most likely Wernicke’s area. The patients were then re-evaluated after 2 weeks and 34.6% of those that had TMS showed more than a 30% decrease in auditory hallucinations, versus 9.1% in the control group. The article states that this is the first controlled trial to see whether or not TMS would be a useful treatment.
With this study comes the question of how this can be commercially applied as a treatment for schizophrenia, as the logistics are difficult given the nature of TMS. Similarly to this, TMS has been proven be promising in the treatment of depression. However, going to a doctor’s office for TMS twice daily for weeks on end is difficult for most people to accomplish.TMS is also something patients cannot do on their own unlike taking a pill once daily, as a very specific area of the brain has to be targeted and the machinery can be difficult to operate. A potential solution to this would be a mass produced portable device for TMS, but this has yet to be developed. For now, further research and development is needed to better mental illness treatment.
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Hey Angie! I was interested in how TMS reduced hearing voices in schizophrenia. Like you stated in the last paragraph, going to a doctors office frequently, especially for TMS would take a toll in the life of people who are busy. I think this would probably work well with patients who live in the same building/location were they would be treated would likely lessen the burden of travel and time. I was also surprised that TMS had also been tried for depression and even found some success in reducing it. I think it there were an option to reduce costs and even probably once a week to a doctors office or you also mentioned if a portable device were to be made, TMS could potentially become something that both individuals with depression and schizophrenia could use.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was a very interesting read and I thought it was interesting for a few reasons. One of them being the fact that these researchers were able to pinpoint a specific location in the brain which helped alleviate some of the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Auditory verbal hallucinations can really impact a person's day to day life so I would think that even a small improvement would make a huge difference. I do think that this information is crucial in going forward with research being done to help those suffering from the various symptoms of schizophrenia and improving their daily lives. But I agree that it would be extremely difficult to be able to constantly come in to a doctor's office to get the TMS procedure so I think a portable device is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI think it is fascinating how TMS was able to reduce the auditory hallucinations associated with schizophrenia. It would be interesting to see a follow up study where TMS targets both Wernicke's and Broca's areas to observe if the hallucinations are associated with language production or comprehension. I also agree that receiving TMS would not be a practical treatment, and that a portable device would be a great solution.
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ReplyDeleteSchizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with disabling symptoms that can be managed yet not fully treated. Thus, studies such as these are critical in developing new methods of relieving the symptoms. This research, in particular, is groundbreaking as it was the first study to precisely identify and target the brain area involved in auditory hallucinations. As you stated, schizophrenia is thought to relate to dopamine imbalances in the brain. It was interesting, therefore, to see a study focused on reducing the symptoms of schizophrenia, particularly auditory hallucinations, rather than on regulating dopamine neurons directly. It was interesting to learn about the Wernicke’s area connection to schizophrenia, and it would be fascinating to know the precise ways in which it regulates auditory hallucinations and to further explore the role of TMS in this process. In addition to language comprehension, perhaps there is some type of dysfunction in the auditory system. Given the promising effects of TMS in upregulating memory and decreasing depression, it is interesting to see further findings in its potential to decrease schizophrenia symptoms.
It is interesting to see how TMS can be used to lessen the severity of symptoms of schizophrenia. I do believe that aside the difficulty in the commute to undergo TMS, patients would be discouraged to do so as they would see more of a financial barrier keeping them from seeking treatment. The healthcare system, though innovative in its techniques, does not cover patient well in terms of insurance when they are suffering from mental health disorders. I do agree that the development of a portable device or even a in-home use device would benefit the patients alongside once a month check-ins with their doctor to ensure the treatment is working. I am curious as to why there was an uneven amount of patients in each group. Was there a explicit reason why the conditions were not held constant in terms of participant count?
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ReplyDeleteThis research is extremely fascinating but it seems like there are a lot of practical implications that need to be worked out before this can be a treatment for schizophrenia. Not only would it be an extremely time consuming long-term treatment, but it would be costly as well. Even if they were able to create a portable TMS device I am sure the cost would be extremely high. This could make it unattainable for most people suffering from schizophrenia. Especially considering many people who suffer from schizophrenia are low income, and I highly doubt that insurance companies would cover the costs. I still think this research is groundbreaking and could help with finding a successful treatment or cure for schizophrenia.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting study! But I think more research still has to be done in order to say that TMS really has an effect on lowering voices, as this study is the first one done so far. The more research, the more accurate I believe it will be. This is important information though. Therefore, I think that more researchers should get involved and repeat the study to find even more interesting things! I hope this study leads to better and effective treatments for schizophrenia. Also, I think the portable device sounds pretty convenient for patients but also expensive. It is still a good idea, but as technology is rapidly increasing, I believe something better will be thought of sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteSchizophrenia has long been a very complex mental disorder and the fact that light is being shed on treatments for the disorder is in itself substantial progress. Through time we have come to learn as you said that it is due to chemical imbalances and takes place in the brain. If TMS treatment were to become the go to for patients with the disease perhaps there would be better outcomes. But as your article states towards the end this won't be possible unless a patient is willing to go multiple times to the hospital per day or if there were to be a portable TMS device. For now scientist should be looking for a far less reached approach, one where it would not be as expensive or time consuming. Your article was very insightful.
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