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METHODS

Subjects We studied 10 healthy volunteers(6 men and 4 women) ages 24 to 51 years(mean±SD= 35±8.1 years). Subjects were recruited with local announcements and were paid. All had normal MRI scans, neurological exams, and physical exams and had no past history or family history of mood disorders as determined by prescreening with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-LA. 23 All subjects specifically met the safety criteria outlined for rTMS in normal volunteers and were right-handed. Subjects were naive to rTMS and were instructed that the study was designed to explore the effects of magnetic stimulation on hormones, reaction time, and mood. Subjects were asked before the study if they had ideas about which brain regions might change mood. No one had such prestudy ideas, and the investigators were careful in the consent process and during the study not to prejudice the volunteers about regional brain function. All gave written informed consent prior to entering the study. Subjects were medication-free except for aspirin and acetaminophen throughout the study and for at least 2 weeks before entering the study.

Experimental Design Subjects were studied on 5 separate days, each at least 2 days after the previous session(typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the following Monday and Wednesday) between June and September of 1994. Each morning between 7: 00 and 9: 00 AM., subjects reported to the 3-West Research Ward and had vital signs checked, performed self-ratings, and had an intravenous catheter inserted and blood sent for thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH), T3, T4, prolactin, and …