The impact of one session of HF-rTMS on salivary cortisol in healthy female subjects.

Previous studies in healthy volunteers reported a possible impact of high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) on stress hormones, like cortisol. In this sham-controlled, "single blind", crossover study, we examined whether HF-rTMS had an effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, by analysing salivary cortisol levels. Two studies were conducted. First, HF-rTMS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was performed in 28 young healthy female volunteers. Second, in a comparable, but different group of 26 healthy females, HF-rTMS was performed on the right DLPFC. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed before, immediately after and 30 min after real and sham HF-rTMS. We found no support for the hypothesis that one single session of HF-rTMS on the left or the right DLPFC has an immediate or delayed impact on the HPA-axis, as measured by salivary cortisol. Although we controlled for several methodological problems in HF-rTMS research, the hypothesis that one single session of HF-rTMS on the left or on the right DLPFC can influence the HPA-axis in healthy volunteers was not supported.

Jaar van publicatie:2009

Trefwoorden:Adult, Arousal/physiology, Cross-Over Studies, Dominance, Cerebral/physiology, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone/blood, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiology, Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiology, Prefrontal Cortex/physiology, Reproducibility of Results, Saliva/chemistry, Single-Blind Method, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Young Adult