Does rTMS Alter Neurocognitive Functioning in Patients with Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia? An fNIRS-Based Investigation of Prefrontal Activation during a Cognitive Task and Its Modulation via Sham-Controlled rTMS

Table 2

Clinical characteristics of all groups, before and after rTMS treatment.

Group	𝑡1 HAM-A; mean (SD)	𝑡2 HAM-A; mean (SD)	𝑡1 Self-rated PAS; mean (SD)	𝑡2 Self-rated PAS; mean (SD)	𝑡1 CAQ; mean (SD)	𝑡2 CAQ; mean (SD)
Controls	3.83 (3.20)^a,b	2.74 (3.57)^c,d	0.22 (1.04)^a,b	0.13 (0.34)^c,d	0.33 (0.20)^a,b	0.33 (0.22)^c,d
Sham	20.3 (7.10)	15.20 (8.81)^e	20.52 (8.10)	15.34 (8.30)^e	1.36 (0.51)	1.06 (0.65)^f
Verum	22.41 (8.97)	18.37 (10.05)^e	20.76 (7.76)	14.91 (6.90)^f	1.63 (0.71)	1.20 (0.71)^f

Over the course of treatment, the degree of assessed symptoms on HAM-A, self-rated PAS, and CAQ significantly declined in the verum and sham stimulated group. However, no significant differences after rTMS-treatment between these two groups occurred. ^a𝑃<0.001 compared with sham rTMS (𝑡1); ^b𝑃<0.001 compared with verum rTMS (𝑡1); ^c𝑃<0.001 compared with sham rTMS (𝑡2); ^d𝑃<0.001 compared with verum rTMS (𝑡2); ^e𝑃<0.01  𝑡-test for paired samples; ^f𝑃<0.001  𝑡-test for paired samples; CAQ: cardiac anxiety questionnaire, HAM-A: Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, PAS: Panic and Agoraphobia Scale, rTMS: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, SD: standard deviation, 𝑡1: measuring time 1, and 𝑡2: measuring time 2.