Grant: CIHR Clinician Scientist - Phase 2

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder that exacts enormous personal, social and economic costs. Currently, 300,000 Canadians suffer from this illness, which is characterized by a constellation of clinical symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, impaired cognition) and life long functional disability. Memory impairments are one of the most difficult to treat problems in SCZ that underlie the poor daily functioning of these patients. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to be an effective and safe in the treatment of schizophrenia. We have recently evaluated rTMS for the treatment of these memory impairments in schizophrenia. Our data shows that by stimulating more frontal regions of the brain there is an improvement in memory. Additionally, we are conducting a type of brain imaging known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine whether the frontal parts of the brain important for this type of memory change with rTMS treatment. This will help us understand better what effects rTMS has on brain structure. Patients with schizophrenia have alterations in frontal parts of their brain that may explain their memory impairments. By conducting MRI before and after the rTMS treatment, we may also find out whether the brain changes in a way that also helps improve memory performance. If our hypotheses are correct, our study will provide promising new treatments for memory impairments in schizophrenia. Having additional treatment options available is vital to improve the quality of life and functioning of our patients that may provide hope for those who would otherwise suffer from persistent illness.