New developments in neuro-navigation and machine learning have allowed for personalised approaches to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to treat various neuropsychiatric disorders. One specific approach, known as the cingulum framework, identifies individualised brain parcellations from resting state fMRI based on a machine-learning algorithm. Theta burst stimulation, a more rapid form of rTMS, is then delivered for 25 sessions, 5 per day, over 5 days consecutively or spaced out over 10 days. Preliminary studies have documented this approach for various neurological and psychiatric ailments. However, the safety and tolerability of this approach are unclear.

We performed a retrospective study on 165 unique patients (202 target sets) treated with this personalised approach between January 2020 and December 2023.

Common side effects included fatigue (102/202, 50%), local muscle twitching (89/202, 43%), headaches (49/202, 23%), and discomfort (31/202, 17%), all transient. The top 10 unique parcellations commonly found in the target sets included L8av (52%), LPGs (28%), LTe1m (21%), RTe1m (18%), LPFM (17%), Ls6–8 (13%), Rs6–8 (9%), L46 (7%), L1 (6%), and L6v (6%). Fatigue was most common in target sets that contained R6v (6/6, 100%) and L8c (5/5, 100%). Muscle twitches were most common in target sets that contained RTGv (5/5, 100%) and LTGv (4/4, 100%).

These side effects were all transient and well-tolerated. No serious side effects were recorded. Results suggested that individualised, connectome-guided rTMS is safe and contain side-effect profiles similar to other TMS approaches reported in the literature.

This systematic review aims to update the current evidence on the effects of institutionalisation in minors living in residential care homes, specifically focusing on alterations in neuronal systems and their association with psychopathological and neuropsychological outcomes.

Searches were conducted in the Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, following PRISMA methodology for peer-reviewed empirical articles. The final selection comprised 10 studies that met the inclusion criteria: (1) published articles with quantitative data, (2) aimed at observing the relationship between psychological and neuropsychological symptoms and the electroencephalogram (EEG) activity in institutionalised children, (3) published between 2016 and 2023, and (4) examining institutionalised minors in residential care homes.

The articles show that these children exhibit general immaturity in EEG patterns, with a predominance of slow waves (primarily in the theta band). They also demonstrate poorer performance in executive functions (e.g. working memory, inhibition, and processing speed) and cognitive processes, along with a higher risk of externalising problems. However, current evidence does not allow definitive conclusions on whether early EEG abnormalities predict long-term neuropsychological deficits, despite data showing associations between EEG changes and certain cognitive dysfunctions at the time of evaluation.

The reviewed evidence suggests that EEG alterations in institutionalised minors are linked to executive dysfunction and increased psychopathological risk. These findings highlight the value of EEG in identifying at-risk children and inform the design of preventive interventions. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causal relationships.

Kabuki syndrome is a rare multisystem congenital disorder characterised by specific facial malformations and several other symptoms, including motor impairments, increased susceptibility to infections, immune mediators’ deficits, anxiety, and stereotyped behaviours. Considering the reports of motor impairments in Kabuki syndrome patients, the first hypothesis of the present study was that this motor dysfunction was a consequence of striatal dopaminergic modulation. The second hypothesis was that the peripheral immune system dysfunctions were a consequence of neuroinflammatory processes. To study these hypotheses, the mutant bapa mouse was used as it is a validated experimental model of Kabuki syndrome.

Exploratory behaviour, anxiety-like behaviour (light-dark test), repetitive/stereotyped behaviour (spontaneous and induced self-grooming), and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), astrocyte glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and ionised calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) striatal expressions were evaluated in female adult bapa and control mice.

Female bapa mice did not present anxiety-like behaviour, but exploratory hyperactivity and stereotyped behaviour both on the spontaneous and induced self-grooming tests. Striatal TH, GFAP, and Iba1 expressions were also increased in bapa mice.

The exploratory hyperactivity and the stereotyped behaviour occurred in detriment of the striatal dopaminergic system hyperactivity and a permanent neuroinflammatory process.