Diverse Advanced Approaches of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) significantly contributes to mental health morbidity. Empirical evidence supports the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) as primary treatment options. However, approximately 40–60% of patients do not achieve satisfactory results with these interventions. This result has led to the exploration of non-invasive brain stimulation alternatives, focusing on advanced repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) paradigms. This chapter discusses these paradigms, including prolonged intermittent theta burst stimulation (piTBS), accelerated rTMS (aTMS), deep TMS (dTMS), priming TMS (pTMS), synchronized TMS (sTMS), various forms of theta burst stimulation (TBS) such as intermittent, continuation, and bilateral TBS, and magnetic seizure therapy (MST).