Depression-Reduction by Accelerated Personalized NeuroModulation and Its Effects on Sleep

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe and efficacious treatment option for treatment-resistant depression. Advances in rTMS protocols with intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) have significantly decreased the duration for one single session and thereby enabled accelerated treatment plans with multiple sessions per day, potentially reducing the total treatment duration. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by impairments in various domains including sleep, impulse control, and interoception. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by fear of abandonment, mood swings, and an unstable perception of self and often occurs with comorbid MDD. This comorbidity frequently impedes treatment of the BPD.

In this randomized, placebo-controlled study, 60 patients with treatment-resistant MDD (30 verum group, 30 sham group) and 60 patients with treatment-resistant MDD and comorbid BPD (30 verum group, 30 sham group) will receive two weeks of connectivity-informed iTBS of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; 3 sessions per day, 5 days per week). Before and after the treatment phase, (functional) magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be performed. The effects of iTBS will be tested in four domains: (1) symptom severity (MDD and BPD symptoms), (2) sleep quality (sleep questionnaires and various sleep parameters monitored via an electroencephalography (EEG) headband), (3) neurocognitive effects (vigilance and response inhibition measured with behavioral and fMRI tasks), and (4) interoception (interoceptive attention measured with behavioral and fMRI tasks). Furthermore, before the start of the two-weeks treatment, a single iTBS session ("forecaster session") will be conducted to explore the validity of early symptom/mood responses and hormonal changes for the prediction of the the treatment outcome. Treatment effects will be analyzed within and across patient groups (MDD and MDD + BPD). In addition, domain-specific treatment effects will be analyzed as a function of distinct iTBS targets within the DLPFC.To evaluate pathological biases, the investigators will compare the patients' data with a control group of 30 healthy participants who will also be tested twice (without iTBS).

Inclusion criteria

• Participant is able to provide consent.
• Diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) according to DSM-V criteria.
• During the current episode, treatment-resistant MDD (at least one failed pharmacological trial of adequate dose and duration)
• For the MDD group with comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD): diagnosis of BPD according to the Diagnotic Statistical Manual V (DSM-V) criteria.
• For healthy controls: no psychiatric or neurological illness.

Exclusion criteria

• For the MDD group without BPD: BPD diagnosis
• The participant does not fulfill requirements for iTBS treatment according to safety guidelines.
• The participant does not fulfill requirements for MRI measurements according to safety guidelines.
• Pregnancy or breast-feeding.
• Acute suicidality.
• Neurological illness (e.g. dementia, Parkinson's disease, chorea huntington, multiple sclerosis).
• increased current risk for epileptic seizure.
• comorbid diagnosis of schizophrenia or psychotic symptoms, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorder within the last 6 months.
• Conditions related to increased intracranial pressure.
• Brain injury or stroke.