Evidence map · rTMS · major depressive disorder
rTMS for major depressive disorder: what the research shows
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for major depressive disorder. 3,320 papers from 1995 to 2026, including 272 meta-analyses, 141 systematic reviews and 713 randomised controlled trials. Each study below links to its source.
3,320Papers in the corpus
272Meta-analyses
713Randomised controlled trials
1,074Open-access papers
Study design
Jev labels654 papers have no confident study-design label yet. Labels are AI-classified by Jev: advisory, not clinician-reviewed.
Papers over time
by publication year* 2025–26 is still in progress, so its count is incomplete.
Most-cited trials and reviews
by citations- 1
Effectiveness of theta burst versus high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with depression (THREE-D): a randomised non-inferiority trial.
- 2
Rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in drug-resistant depression.
- 3
Daily left prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for major depressive disorder: a sham-controlled randomized trial.
- 4
Response, remission and drop-out rates following high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for treating major depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind and sham-controlled trials.
- 5
Opposite effects of high and low frequency rTMS on regional brain activity in depressed patients.
- 6
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Acute Treatment of Major Depressive Episodes: A Systematic Review With Network Meta-analysis.
- 7
Mood improvement following daily left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with depression: a placebo-controlled crossover trial.
- 8
Therapeutic efficacy of right prefrontal slow repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depression: a double-blind controlled study.
Recent trials and reviews
last 3 years- 1
Intermittent theta burst stimulation for non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with major depressive disorder: a randomized, sham-controlled trial.
- 2
Efficacy and Safety of Accelerated Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation for Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study.
- 3
Patient-reported outcomes following accelerated vs. standard TMS with the H1 coil for major depression: A multisite randomized trial.
- 4
Efficacy, Effectiveness, and Safety of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Bipolar Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
- 5
Efficacy and safety of transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of children, adolescents and young adults with depression: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Decision support only. This page summarises published literature; it is not medical advice or a recommendation for any patient. Study designs and topic labels are AI-classified by Jev: advisory, not clinician-reviewed. Abstracts are not reproduced here: follow the links to read each source. Data snapshot 2026-09-25.