B - 56 Effects of rTMS Treatment on Executive Function Measured by the CANTAB Spatial Working Memory Subtest.

Abstract

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) presents with deficits in executive function (Krawczyk et al., 2019). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive neuromodulation treatment, may help improve cognitive outcomes. However, it remains unclear in which cognitive domains (Clark & Parasuraman, 2014; Donaldson et al., 2015). This study investigates executive function using the Spatial Working Memory subtest of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, a computerized card-matching task in which participants match up to 12 cards to matched pairs based on memory (CDC). Veterans and civilians were enrolled (n = 31; mild and moderate TBI; mean age = 62.25) and placed into active or sham groups. Participants received neuropsychological assessment at baseline, after 20 rTMS treatments, and at six-month follow-up. This study compared means between the active and sham groups (n = 16 & 15, respectively). Participants in the active group had fewer errors than the sham group on the 12-box trial (M = 24.19, SD = 11.20; M = 34.27, SD = 18.16; respectively), 8-box trial (M = 6.75, SD = 5.447; M = 8.27, SD = 6.11; respectively), 6-box trial (M = 2.06, SD = 3.00; M = 3.60, SD = 4.03; respectively) and across the 4, 6 and 8-box trials (M = 9.75, SD = 8.57; M = 12.47, SD = 10.04; respectively). Effect sizes were small to large (d = 0.28-0.67). The results suggest that rTMS treatment potentially enhances executive functioning in older adults with TBI. Further research on the impacts of rTMS in executive function domains is warranted.