ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Study on the Clinical Efficacy of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Adolescent Patients with Depression and Its Influence on Neurotransmitters Based on Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Sichuan, China
- 2Luzhou Mental Health Center, Sichuan, China
- 3Fundamental and Clinical Research on Mental Disorders Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- 4Southwest Medical University School of Nursing, Luzhou, China
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Objective: This study aims to investigate the clinical efficacy of rTMS on adolescent patients with depression and its impact on neurotransmitter levels using fNIRS technology. Methods: Eighty adolescents with major depressive disorder who attended the Psychosomatic Medicine Outpatient Clinic of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University between August 2024 and January 2025 were enrolled and randomly assigned to control (n = 40; sertraline hydrochloride + sham rTMS) or research (n = 40; sertraline hydrochloride + active rTMS) groups. All participants received 4 weeks of treatment. Depression severity (HAMD), anxiety severity (HAMA), quality of life (GQOLI-74), cognitive performance (DSST, DST, SVF), fNIRS-derived cortical metrics (frontal and bilateral temporal integral and centroid values), and serum neurotransmitter levels (DA, 5-HT, NE) were assessed at baseline, week 2, and week 4. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable (P > 0.05). Two-factor repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that for the scores of each dimension of HAMD, HAMA, GQOLI-74 and the levels of neurotransmitters, the interaction and main effects of time and group were all significant (all P < 0.05). Simple effect analysis revealed that after the intervention, the above scores and neurotransmitter levels of the research group improved more than those of the control group, and the levels within the group also significantly improved compared to the baseline levels (all P < 0.05). In terms of cognitive function and most fNIRS indicators, although the interaction was not significant, the scores of the research group after the intervention and the integral values of the frontal lobe and bilateral temporal lobes were significantly higher than those of the control group, and both groups significantly improved compared to the baseline (all P < 0.05). In addition, the interaction of the bilateral temporal lobe center of gravity was significant, and the decrease in the study group after the intervention was greater than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: rTMS significantly alleviates depression and anxiety, enhances quality of life and cognitive performance, boosts frontotemporal activity, and increases
Keywords: fNIRS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, adolescents, Depression, neurotransmitters
Received: 03 Sep 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Lan, Chen, Long, Xiang, Wang and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lin Wang, 417438027@qq.com
Rongfang He, hrf18716124461@163.com
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