Effectiveness of Bilateral Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Anhedonia and Depression Symptoms in Major Depressive Disorder Patients

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on anhedonia among patients with MDD. In a randomized controlled trial study with pre-post test design and control group among referred MDD patients to Atieh Clinical Neuroscience Center, a total sample of 58 patients were selected and were randomized into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group patients were received 10 sessions of a 10-Hz rTMS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and a 1-Hz rTMS on the right DLPFC. Control group received a sham rTMS. The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)) were used to evaluation participants both before and after treatment. Results of a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance showed that a bilateral rTMS significantly decreased the mean scores for anhedonia and depression symptoms in the experimental group than control. This study indicated that rTMS could be considered as an effective approach in the treatment of anhedonia and depression symptoms of the MDD patients.