PRELIMINARY COMPARISON OF BEHAVIORAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS OF CHRONIC TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION AND ELECTROCONVULSIVE SHOCK IN THE RAT

To confirm the assumption that repetitive rapid-rate transcranial magn etic stimulation (TMS) induces the functional and structural changes a nalogous to those which are evoked during electroconvulsive shock (ECS ), we compared now the effects of treatments with TMS and ECS on the b ehavioral responses in ras. We also tested the reactivity of the cycli c adenosine monophosphate (AMP) generating system in cerebral cortical slices. TMS similarly to ECS shortened the immobility time in the for ced swimming test and produced a depression of responsiveness of the n oradrenaline-stimulated cyclic AMP generating system, although the sig nificance of the latter effect was borderline. In contrast to ECT, TMS produced no such immediate behavioral effects as analgesia and depres sion of the early phase of locomotor activity. The data suggest that T MS produces in rats some responses that are regarded as predictive for antidepressant activity, similar to those produced by ECS, but less a dverse effects. (C) 1997 Society of Biological Psychiatry.