Thus, while neuroimaging techniques have indicated that there are significant alterations in functional connectivity in schizophrenic patients, the precise abnormalities and their relationship to disease expression are uncertain. For this reason, over the past decade there have been a number of studies utilizing brain stimulation techniques to explore some of these altered connectivity patterns and to treat the associated symptoms. The current data suggests that low-frequency rTMS to the left temporo-parietal junction is useful in the treatment of auditory hallucinations, while high-frequency stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may be beneficial for treatment of negative symptoms (Freitas et al., 2009; Dlabac-de Lange et al., 2010; Matheson et al., 2010).
