Fu HX. Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on electroencephalogram and memory function in patients with mild cognitive impairment. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(7): 106761 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i7.106761]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hai-Xia Fu, MS, Rehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, No. 85 Jiefang South Road, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China. fuhaixia1993@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Jul 19, 2025; 15(7): 106761 Published online Jul 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i7.106761
Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on electroencephalogram and memory function in patients with mild cognitive impairment
Hai-Xia Fu
Hai-Xia Fu, Rehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Fu HX designed the study and were involved in the data acquisition and writing of this article, contributed to the analysis of the manuscript, read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Xia Fu, MS, Rehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, No. 85 Jiefang South Road, Taiyuan 030000, Shanxi Province, China. fuhaixia1993@163.com
Received: March 19, 2025 Revised: April 23, 2025 Accepted: May 22, 2025 Published online: July 19, 2025 Processing time: 112 Days and 19.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a high-risk precursor to Alzheimer’s disease characterized by declining memory or other progressive cognitive functions without compromising daily living abilities.
AIM
To investigate the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in patients with MCI.
METHODS
This retrospective analysis involved 180 patients with MCI who were admitted to The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 2021 to June 2023. Participants were allocated into the research (n = 98, receiving rTMS) and control groups (n = 82, receiving sham stimulation). Memory tests, cognitive function assessments, event-related potential–P300 tests, and electroencephalogram (EEG) examinations were conducted pre-treatment and post-treatment. Further, memory quotient (MQ), cognitive function scores, and EEG grading results were compared, along with adverse reaction incidences.
RESULTS
Pre-treatment MQ scores, long-term and short-term memory, as well as immediate memory scores, demonstrated no notable differences between the groups. Post-treatment, the research group exhibited significant increases in MQ scores, long-term memory, and short-term memory compared to baseline (P < 0.05), with these improvements being statistically superior to those in the control group. However, immediate memory scores exhibited no significant change (P > 0.05). Further, the research group demonstrated statistically better post-treatment scores on the Revised Wechsler Memory Scale than the control group. Furthermore, post-treatment P300 latency and amplitude improved significantly in the research group, surpassing the control group. EEG grading in the research group improved, and the incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower than in the control group.
CONCLUSION
Patients with MCI receiving rTMS therapy demonstrated improved memory and cognitive functions and EEG grading and exhibited high safety with fewer adverse reactions.
Core Tip: Mild cognitive impairment falls short of meeting the diagnostic criteria for dementia and is generally considered a transitional phase between normal aging and dementia. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is currently considered an emerging treatment for early cognitive rehabilitation. This study will investigate the effectiveness and safety of the treatment from neuropsychological and neurophysiological perspectives using the memory quotient and the electroencephalogram as the subjects.
