Sleep Deprivation Therapy Enhanced Via Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Major Depression

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and sleep deprivation (SD) are two of the latest advances made in the field of psychiatric research. Though yet in development, they present unique opportunities to achieve significant clinical outcomes particularly in major depression disorder (MDD). A limited set of studies have been done in the combined use of rTMS-SD in treating MDD. While promising, these studies have been hampered by the limited knowledge of rTMS and SD themselves due to their relatively recent use as viable therapeutic options. This review is aimed at an analysis of the limitations observed in the studies conducted to date involving rTMS and SD. In addition, it explores the potential new avenues for future research in the deployment of rTMS-SD as a viable treatment option.