A Neurocomputational Analysis Review of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex rTMS Treatments of Neurological Disorder

Abstract

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been used as a treatment for several psychiatric and neurological disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, addiction and Parkinson's disease. However, the precise mechanism of action of DLPFC rTMS and how it translates to the effectiveness of treatment of these disorders is not fully understood. In this study, we provide a review of computational explanations of how DLPFC rTMS may treat several clinical disorders. The review show that DLPFC rTMS can ameliorate several symptoms in different psychiatric and neurological disorders via the following mechanisms of action: (a) modulating the activations of several cortical and subcortical areas, (b) increasing dopamine levels in both cortical and subcortical structures, and (c) modulating connectivity among several brain areas. In addition, we discuss future directions on experimental and computational studies of DLPFC rTMS. Specifically, future computational modelling should take into account the multi-dimensional nature of DLPFC rTMS effect on the brain and behaviour.