Lower glutamate level in temporo-parietal junction may predict a better response to tDCS in schizophrenia: A pilot study
Poster B43, Tuesday, October%209, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
Junhee Lee1, Youngwoo Bryan Yoon2, Andrea Wijtenburg3, Laura Rowland3, In Chan Song4, Kang Ik Cho2, Minah Kim1, Tae Young Lee1, Jun Soo Kwon1,2,5; 1Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 2Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, SNU-MRC, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 3Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 4Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 5Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Several key neurotransmitters such as glutamate have been suggested as a mediating factor in psychotic symptoms including auditory hallucination. It has been suggested that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive neuromodulation technique, may be useful in reducing auditory hallucination, but the role of the neurotransmitters in regard to the treatment effect in schizophrenia remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated alteration of key neurotransmitters including glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) after tDCS intervention in 7 schizophrenia patients, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique. Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) total and general psychophathology scale showed a significant improvement after tDCS, while Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale (AHRS) demonstrated an insignificant improvement. A significant positive correlation between the pre-tDCS glutamate/Cr value in left TPJ and the improvement in auditory hallucination measured by AHRS after tDCS was found. This study suggests a potential role of glutamatergic system in temporo-parietal area in predicting treatment response of auditory hallucination.
Topic Area: Neuroimaging