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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDBrain disorders (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Parietal and prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for mild cognitive impairment (MCI): A pilot randomized clinical trial.

  • Joy L Taylor1,2
  • Beatriz Hernandez1,2
  • Laura C Lazzeroni1,2
  • M Windy McNerney1,2
  • Alesha Heath1,2
  • J Wesson Ashford2,3
  • Jauhtai Joseph Cheng1,2
  • Steven Chao1,4
  • Priyanka Bhatt1
  • Michael Iv5
  • Fatemeh S Mojabi1,3
  • Jerome A Yesavage1,2
5 affiliations
  1. 1Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness Research Education Clinical Center (MIRECC), US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
  2. 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
  3. 3Palo Alto CA War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (CA WRIISC), US Department of Veterans Affairs, (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
  4. 4Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
  5. 5Department of Radiology, Division of Neuroimaging and Neurointervention, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
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Abstract

Background

Even though studies of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) have demonstrated improvements in cognitive function, we know little about what site of stimulation would be ideal for improving memory.Methods

We investigated two sites: (1) the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); and (2) the lateral parietal cortex (LPC), a more novel site. Forty amnestic MCI participants were randomized to one of three rTMS groups: (1) active DLPFC; (2) active LPC; and (3) sham. After completing 20 sessions of MRI-neuronavigated, bilateral rTMS, the participants were followed for 6 months. The primary outcome/endpoint was the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) list learning score assessed at 1-week post intervention.Results

Thirty-seven of 40 randomized participants provided primary endpoint data. Compared with the sham group, the active LPC group performed significantly higher on CVLT-II list learning (p = .048; standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.86). No significant differences in CVLT-II list learning were detected between the active DLPFC and sham groups (p = .629; SMD = 0.20). Exploratory analyses revealed that the active LPC group performed better than sham on CVLT-II long-delay recall at the 1-week-post primary endpoint (p = .004; SMD = 1.30), and higher on CVLT-II semantic clustering at the 3-month follow-up (p = .015, SMD = 1.16).Conclusion

The parietal cortex is a promising TMS target for improving memory function in MCI. More definitive trials are needed to compare the efficacy of parietal and DLPFC TMS for treatment of memory and cognitive impairment.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{taylor2026parietal,
  title = {{Parietal and prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for mild cognitive impairment (MCI): A pilot randomized clinical trial.}},
  author = {Joy L Taylor and Beatriz Hernandez and Laura C Lazzeroni and M Windy McNerney and Alesha Heath and J Wesson Ashford and Jauhtai Joseph Cheng and Steven Chao and Priyanka Bhatt and Michael Iv and Fatemeh S Mojabi and Jerome A Yesavage},
  journal = {Brain disorders (Amsterdam, Netherlands)},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1016/j.dscb.2026.100322},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42852183},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Parietal and prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for mild cognitive impairment (MCI): A pilot randomized clinical trial.
AU  - Joy L Taylor
AU  - Beatriz Hernandez
AU  - Laura C Lazzeroni
AU  - M Windy McNerney
AU  - Alesha Heath
AU  - J Wesson Ashford
AU  - Jauhtai Joseph Cheng
AU  - Steven Chao
AU  - Priyanka Bhatt
AU  - Michael Iv
AU  - Fatemeh S Mojabi
AU  - Jerome A Yesavage
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/16
JO  - Brain disorders (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
DO  - 10.1016/j.dscb.2026.100322
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42852183
AB  - Background  Even though studies of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) have demonstrated improvements in cognitive function, we know little about what site of stimulation would be ideal for improving memory.Methods  We investigated two sites: (1) the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); and (2) the lateral parietal cortex (LPC), a more novel site. Forty amnestic MCI participants were randomized to one of three rTMS groups: (1) active DLPFC; (2) active LPC; and (3) sham. After completing 20 sessions of MRI-neuronavigated, bilateral rTMS, the participants were followed for 6 months. The primary outcome/endpoint was the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) list learning score assessed at 1-week post intervention.Results  Thirty-seven of 40 randomized participants provided primary endpoint data. Compared with the sham group, the active LPC group performed significantly higher on CVLT-II list learning (p = .048; standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.86). No significant differences in CVLT-II list learning were detected between the active DLPFC and sham groups (p = .629; SMD = 0.20). Exploratory analyses revealed that the active LPC group performed better than sham on CVLT-II long-delay recall at the 1-week-post primary endpoint (p = .004; SMD = 1.30), and higher on CVLT-II semantic clustering at the 3-month follow-up (p = .015, SMD = 1.16).Conclusion  The parietal cortex is a promising TMS target for improving memory function in MCI. More definitive trials are needed to compare the efficacy of parietal and DLPFC TMS for treatment of memory and cognitive impairment.
SN  - 2666-4593
ER  -