Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series

Background: Auditory hallucinations affect 60%–80% of schizophrenia patients, often causing distress and functional impairment. Despite antipsychotic treatment, 30% remain resistant. Dysfunctional prefrontal-temporal connectivity has been found to be associated with these symptoms. Repetitive Transc...

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Main Authors: Sukriti Mukherjee, Jayashree Kalita, Trishita Chatterjee, Zinedine Zidane, Sukanto Sarkar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-06-01
Series:Indian Journal of Psychiatry
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_200_25
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author Sukriti Mukherjee
Jayashree Kalita
Trishita Chatterjee
Zinedine Zidane
Sukanto Sarkar
author_facet Sukriti Mukherjee
Jayashree Kalita
Trishita Chatterjee
Zinedine Zidane
Sukanto Sarkar
author_sort Sukriti Mukherjee
collection DOAJ
description Background: Auditory hallucinations affect 60%–80% of schizophrenia patients, often causing distress and functional impairment. Despite antipsychotic treatment, 30% remain resistant. Dysfunctional prefrontal-temporal connectivity has been found to be associated with these symptoms. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a neuromodulation technique that targets the dysfunctional area and is being used for treatment of persistent auditory hallucinations in Schizophrenia with mixed results. Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) is a novel neuromodulation technique that works on the principals of rTMS with similar or more robust clinical efficacy. Cases: We describe the cases of three patients where cTBS was applied. Conclusion: Significant improvement in auditory hallucinations was noticed in all three patients. While this evidence must be interpreted with caution, future studies on this topic with robust protocol to be conducted.
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institution Kabale University
issn 0019-5545
1998-3794
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Indian Journal of Psychiatry
spelling doaj-art-4bc1e58fee8147ceaff12e2edf9d03c32025-08-20T03:29:45ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Psychiatry0019-55451998-37942025-06-0167662763010.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_200_25Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case seriesSukriti MukherjeeJayashree KalitaTrishita ChatterjeeZinedine ZidaneSukanto SarkarBackground: Auditory hallucinations affect 60%–80% of schizophrenia patients, often causing distress and functional impairment. Despite antipsychotic treatment, 30% remain resistant. Dysfunctional prefrontal-temporal connectivity has been found to be associated with these symptoms. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a neuromodulation technique that targets the dysfunctional area and is being used for treatment of persistent auditory hallucinations in Schizophrenia with mixed results. Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) is a novel neuromodulation technique that works on the principals of rTMS with similar or more robust clinical efficacy. Cases: We describe the cases of three patients where cTBS was applied. Conclusion: Significant improvement in auditory hallucinations was noticed in all three patients. While this evidence must be interpreted with caution, future studies on this topic with robust protocol to be conducted.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_200_25clozapine resistant schizophreniacontinuous theta burst stimulationneuromodulationpersistent auditory hallucinations
spellingShingle Sukriti Mukherjee
Jayashree Kalita
Trishita Chatterjee
Zinedine Zidane
Sukanto Sarkar
Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series
Indian Journal of Psychiatry
clozapine resistant schizophrenia
continuous theta burst stimulation
neuromodulation
persistent auditory hallucinations
title Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series
title_full Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series
title_fullStr Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series
title_full_unstemmed Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series
title_short Exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Insights from a case series
title_sort exploring adjunctive continuous theta burst stimulation for treatment resistant auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia insights from a case series
topic clozapine resistant schizophrenia
continuous theta burst stimulation
neuromodulation
persistent auditory hallucinations
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_200_25
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