Targeted excitatory non-invasive brain stimulation can lead to major symptomatic improvements in patients with schizophrenia, according to the first network meta-analysis of its kind.

Specifically, high-definition transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) was associated with the greatest alleviation in negative symptoms, the researchers say.

In a review of 48 trials involving some 2200 adults (mean age 39), Taiwanese researchers compared the efficacy and acceptability of different non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) interventions for negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

The NIBS interventions included tRNS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), theta-burst stimulation (TBS), transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).