• Chris Baeken, Vince van Beek, Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt, Romain Duprat, and Debby Klooster.
• Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Laboratory, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
• Neuromodulation. 2021 Jul 1; 24 (5): 938-949.

ObjectivesAccelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) is a promising treatment option for depressed patients. However, there is a large interindividual variability in clinical effectiveness and individual biomarkers to guide treatment outcome are needed.Materials And MethodsHere, the relation between cortical thickness and clinical response (17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) was studied using anatomical MRI data of 50 depressed patients who were included in a randomized, sham-controlled, double-blinded, cross-over aiTBS design (NCT01832805).ResultsBaseline cortical thickness in the right caudal part of the anterior cingulate cortex (cACC) was significantly correlated with direct clinical responses in the subgroup who received active aiTBS during the first stimulation week. No correlations were found between baseline cortical thickness and delayed clinical effectiveness. In this particular region, longitudinal changes in cortical thickness were significantly correlated with clinical effectiveness. Furthermore, direct changes in cortical thickness in the right cACC showed predictive potential of delayed clinical responses.ConclusionCortical thickness within the right cACC might be an important biomarker to predict clinical responses to aiTBS. Additional studies are warranted to substantiate the specific biomarker potential of these parts of the ACC.© 2021 The Authors. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Neuromodulation Society.

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