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Effect of antipsychotics on cortical inhibition using transcranial magnetic stimulation

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Abstract

Previous studies suggest that antipsychotic medications may alter cortical inhibition (CI). The current study was designed to determine if typical or atypical antipsychotics indeed alter CI in healthy subjects using three CI paradigms as measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): short interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), cortical silent period (CSP) and transcallosal inhibition (TCI). CI was measured before, 6 and 24 h after being randomly assigned to receive a single dose of 2 mg haloperidol (n=8), 10 mg olanzapine (n=10) or placebo (n=9). There was no significant effect on any measure of CI at 6 and 24 h after receiving olanzapine, haloperidol or placebo. Moreover, no significant change in the motor threshold was observed across the three medication groups. Therefore, single administration of an antipsychotic has no effect on CI or resting motor threshold. Whether chronic, repeated administration of antipsychotics has effects on CI requires further investigation.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Jenny Chao and Jeff Logan for their invaluable assistance with this project. Dr. Daskalakis was supported through a research training fellowship from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation, the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation and is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research INMHA Clinician Scientist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schizophrenia Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Zafiris J. Daskalakis, Bruce K. Christensen, Robert B. Zipursky & Shitij Kapur

  2. Division of Neurology, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Robert Chen

  3. Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred and Monash University Department of Psychological Medicine, Commercial Road, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Paul B. Fitzgerald

  4. Schizophrenia Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 7th Floor, Clarke Division, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Zafiris J. Daskalakis

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  1. Zafiris J. Daskalakis
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  2. Bruce K. Christensen
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  3. Robert Chen
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  4. Paul B. Fitzgerald
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  5. Robert B. Zipursky
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  6. Shitij Kapur
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Correspondence to Zafiris J. Daskalakis.

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Daskalakis, Z.J., Christensen, B.K., Chen, R. et al. Effect of antipsychotics on cortical inhibition using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Psychopharmacology 170, 255–262 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1548-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1548-1

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