Project Summary

Declan M. McLoughlin, Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2003) of King’s College London, will investigate whether normal function can be restored to the prefrontal cortex through targeted activation of it which in turn may improve negative symptoms, as research suggests there is reduced activity of the prefrontal cortex in the brains of persons with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Dr. McLoughlin will test this by using transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS (a safe non-invasive way to stimulate the brain, used therapeutically to modify brain activity in a range of psychiatric disorders) to activate the prefrontal cortex. To confirm and extend findings which suggest activation of the prefrontal cortex by TMS has beneficial effects upon the severity of negative symptoms and prefrontal cognitive functions, he will perform a larger randomized and controlled pilot study in which schizophrenia patients with negative symptoms are randomly allocated to receive a course of either real TMS or placebo TMS to compare responses between the two groups and establish if TMS might be useful for treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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