Acute Intermittent Theta‐Burst Stimulation Produces Antidepressant‐Like Effects by Modulating Neuronal Oscillations and Serotonin Levels of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Experimental Parkinson's Disease

ABSTRACT Parkinson's disease (PD)‐related depression is associated with aberrant neuronal oscillations and 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) neurotransmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Intermittent theta‐burst stimulation (iTBS), an updated pattern of high‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, has possible efficacy in PD‐related depression. However, whether iTBS alleviates PD‐related depression through modulating neuronal oscillations and 5‐HT levels in the mPFC has not been determined. In this study, male Sprague–Dawley rats were used to establish a unilateral 6‐hydroxydopamine‐induced PD model. Then, acute iTBS was applied to the parkinsonian rats, and behavioral, neurochemical, and electrophysiological experiments were performed. We found that the parkinsonian rats exhibited increased immobility time and decreased sucrose preference accompanied by an increase of δ power and a decrease of θ power in the mPFC compared to sham‐operated rats. One block of iTBS (1 block‐iTBS, 300 stimuli) alleviated depressive‐like behaviors in parkinsonian rats and elevated 5‐HT levels in the mPFC compared to sham‐iTBS. Additionally, it altered neuronal oscillations in the mPFC in the opposite fashion by suppressing the δ rhythm and enhancing the θ and β rhythms compared to sham‐iTBS, suggesting that acute iTBS induces hyperactivity in the mPFC. With this iTBS paradigm, we also observed decreased parvalbumin expression in the mPFC, reflecting reduced cortical inhibition. Finally, correlation analyses showed strong correlation between immobility time and θ power after 1 block‐iTBS. These findings suggest that the application of acute iTBS in parkinsonian rats produces antidepressant‐like effects, which may be associated with elevated 5‐HT levels and normalized neuronal oscillations in the mPFC.