Acute prefrontal hemodynamic responses to intermittent theta burst stimulation correlate with current depression and episode recurrence: A cross-sectional study.
Overview
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
- Shanghai YangZhi Rehabilitation Hospital (Shanghai Sunshine Rehabilitation Center), School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Psychiatry, Virtus Medical, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- DZPG (German Center for Mental Health), partner site Munich‐Augsburg, Munich & Augsburg, Germany
- Mental Health Research Center, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Abstract
Background: Mounting evidence has indicated that multiple major depressive disorder (MDD) episodes are correlated with brain morphometric changes that confer an increased recurrence risk. Functional abnormalities underlying this recurrent vulnerability remain underexplored. Acute neuroplastic responses to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation hold promise to identify such functional alterations.
Methods: This study involved 121 adults, including 39 individuals with current MDD, 41 individuals with MDD in remission, and 41 healthy controls. Cross‐sectional changes in hemodynamic responses and functional connectivity induced by a single session of intermittent theta burst stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) were measured using simultaneous functional near‐infrared spectroscopy and analyzed with linear mixed models. Hierarchical regression examined the relationships between the number of prior depressive episodes and observed functional changes in patient cohorts.
Results: Stimulation instantly elevated deoxyhemoglobin levels in the stimulated dlPFC across all participants, with greater increases in patient cohorts versus controls, demonstrating a persistent disease effect regardless of prior episodes or remitted state. Poststimulation increases in oxyhemoglobin concentration were current depression‐dependent and associated with multiple episodes in remitted patients. Prefrontal networks were characterized by a transient reduction in global node degree during stimulation in all groups.
Conclusions: Our findings align with clinical and preclinical evidence linking disrupted neurovascular function in the prefrontal cortex to depression pathophysiology. Poststimulation responses in the stimulated dlPFC, reflecting the current state and multiple prior episodes, show potential for aiding in differential diagnosis and indicating depression vulnerability. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether such neurological dysfunctions represent disease progression or a vulnerability biomarker.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Code
The paper says that its authors' code is available on request: it was not published with the paper, so there is nothing to verify.
The paper's code and data availability statement is in the Data section.
Tracing map
A tracing map links a paper to the code its authors published: this paper has none (its code is available on request), so it has no map.
Data
No dataset and no data link were found in the paper.
Data availability statement
The raw data and MATLAB code used in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Versions
The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.
Version 1, 29 September 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 13 authors, 4 keywords, 16 MeSH terms, 2 funders, 64 references.
Cite
This paper
Jin, M., Xia, A. W., Chau, W. M., Shi, N. M., Qin, P. P., Zhang, B. B., Kan, R. L., Tang, A. H., Lin, T. T., Wang, S. X., Chung, D. W., Padberg, F., & Kranz, G. S. (2026). Acute prefrontal hemodynamic responses to intermittent theta burst stimulation correlate with current depression and episode recurrence: A cross-sectional study. Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 80(7), 616-625. https://
BibTeX
@article{jin2026acute,
author = {Jin, Minxia and Xia, Adam WL and Chau, Wanda MW and Shi, Nancy MXY and Qin, Penny P and Zhang, Bella BB and Kan, Rebecca LD and Tang, Alvin HP and Lin, Tim TZ and Wang, Sharie X and Chung, Dicky WS and Padberg, Frank and Kranz, Georg S},
title = {{Acute prefrontal hemodynamic responses to intermittent theta burst stimulation correlate with current depression and episode recurrence: A cross-sectional study}},
journal = {Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences},
year = {2026},
month = apr,
volume = {80},
number = {7},
pages = {616--625},
publisher = {Wiley},
issn = {1323-1316},
doi = {10.1111/
url = {https://
pmid = {41982072},
pmcid = {PMC13332562}
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Jin, Minxia
AU - Xia, Adam WL
AU - Chau, Wanda MW
AU - Shi, Nancy MXY
AU - Qin, Penny P
AU - Zhang, Bella BB
AU - Kan, Rebecca LD
AU - Tang, Alvin HP
AU - Lin, Tim TZ
AU - Wang, Sharie X
AU - Chung, Dicky WS
AU - Padberg, Frank
AU - Kranz, Georg S
TI - Acute prefrontal hemodynamic responses to intermittent theta burst stimulation correlate with current depression and episode recurrence: A cross-sectional study
T2 - Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
J2 - Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
VL - 80
IS - 7
SP - 616
EP - 625
SN - 1323-1316
PB - Wiley
DO - 10.1111/
UR - https://
LA - en
ER -
CSL-JSON
{
"id": "10.1111/
"type": "article-journal",
"title": "Acute prefrontal hemodynamic responses to intermittent theta burst stimulation correlate with current depression and episode recurrence: A cross-sectional study",
"container-title": "Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences",
"author": [
{
"family": "Jin",
"given": "Minxia"
},
{
"family": "Xia",
"given": "Adam WL"
},
{
"family": "Chau",
"given": "Wanda MW"
},
{
"family": "Shi",
"given": "Nancy MXY"
},
{
"family": "Qin",
"given": "Penny P"
},
{
"family": "Zhang",
"given": "Bella BB"
},
{
"family": "Kan",
"given": "Rebecca LD"
},
{
"family": "Tang",
"given": "Alvin HP"
},
{
"family": "Lin",
"given": "Tim TZ"
},
{
"family": "Wang",
"given": "Sharie X"
},
{
"family": "Chung",
"given": "Dicky WS"
},
{
"family": "Padberg",
"given": "Frank"
},
{
"family": "Kranz",
"given": "Georg S"
}
],
"container-title-short":
"volume": "80",
"issue": "7",
"page": "616-625",
"DOI": "10.1111/
"PMID": "41982072",
"PMCID": "PMC13332562",
"ISSN": "1323-1316",
"publisher": "Wiley",
"URL": "https://
"language": "en",
"issued": {
"date-parts": [
[
2026,
4,
14
]
]
}
}
Similar papers
The papers with a page that share the most with this one: the tools found in their code, their categories, datasets, cited references and authors, the rarest counting most.
- [1] doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.33507 [code]
- Illness Severity and Longitudinal Gray Matter Volumes Among People With Major Depressive Disorder.Journal: JAMA network openIn common: depression, 5 references
- [2] doi:10.1159/000552942 [code]
- How Standardized Is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment for Depression? Large-Cohort Modeling Reveals Systematic Dosimetric Variability.Journal: Psychotherapy and psychosomaticsIn common: depression, other, author Penny Ping Qin
- [3] doi:10.1038/s44220-026-00680-y [code]
- The neuroimaging correlates of depression established across six large-scale population datasets.Journal: Nature. Mental healthIn common: depression, 4 references
- [4] doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1828806
- Integrative multi-omics and machine learning analysis identifies candidate biomarkers associated with mitochondrial quality control in major depressive disorder.Journal: Frontiers in psychiatryIn common: depression, 3 references
- [5] doi:10.1117/1.nph.13.3.035005 [code]
- Extending effective multiplicity for independent designs in multichannel fNIRS studies.Journal: NeurophotonicsIn common: fNIRS, 3 references
- [6] doi:10.1038/s41398-026-04189-x [code]
- Decomposing neuroanatomical heterogeneity in depression: insights from an ENIGMA major depressive disorder working group study in 5146 individuals.Journal: Translational psychiatryIn common: depression, 3 references
- [7] doi:10.1038/s41380-026-03560-0
- Optimized multichannel 4 mA vs conventional transcranial direct current stimulation for major depressive disorder: A randomized sham-controlled trial.Journal: Molecular psychiatryIn common: depression, other, 2 references
- [8] doi:
- Material context moderates the occupation-adjusted association between Visualization and prefrontal hemodynamics during naturalistic design: an exploratory wearable fNIRS studyJournal: Frontiers in neuroergonomicsIn common: fNIRS, other, 2 references
- [9] doi:10.1117/1.nph.13.2.025009
- Distinct neural signatures of phonemic and semantic verbal fluency: a double dissociation in cortical activation and functional connectivity revealed by fNIRS.Journal: NeurophotonicsIn common: fNIRS, 2 references
- [10] doi:10.1117/1.nph.13.s3.s32602 [code]
- Cedalion tutorial: a Python-based framework for comprehensive analysis of multimodal fNIRS and DOT from the lab to the everyday world.Journal: NeurophotonicsIn common: fNIRS, 2 references
Contribute
The authors of this paper can claim it, correct its record and validate its tracing map, and the maintainers of its code (its owner, or a public member of its organization) correct what it says of their repository; anyone signed in can ask for its removal. Every request goes to OSCR's own machine, which answers it; your account page follows them.
Sign in with ORCID to claim this paper as one of its authors, correct its record or validate its tracing map: when the paper's metadata lists your ORCID iD, you are recognized at once. Maintainers of its code: sign in with GitHub, then claim the repository on your account page.
Claim this paper
Correct its record
Say what each link of this record is, remove the ones that are not the paper's, add the ones that are missing. The correction becomes a new version of the record, in its Versions section.
Request its removal
To ask OSCR to remove this record, the copies of its authors' scripts or its tracing map, use the removal request page: signed in, you say who you are, what to remove and why, then review and confirm the request. Published rules decide every request (how).
Discussion, reproductions, activity
Discussion: questions and error reports about this paper and its code, from signed-in readers and its authors. It opens with sign-in.
Reproductions: reports from readers who ran the authors' code: what they reproduced, with which environment, commit and data. It opens with sign-in.
Activity: what happens around this paper: new versions of its record, its map's validation, discussions and reproductions. It opens with sign-in.