{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T18:35:25Z","timestamp":1769798125314,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769731200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a core symptom of schizophrenia and contribute substantially to patient suffering and disability. They are among the most persistent symptoms and do not respond to medication in a substantial portion of patients. Here, we report the application of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-guided repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in a patient with treatment-resistant AVH. An individualized stimulation target was identified in the left temporal cortex near Heschl\u2019s gyrus using a validated fMRI task. Over a period of 18 months, the patient underwent three cycles of inhibitory 1 Hz rTMS of this target. As a result, AVH severity decreased by 33% and the global symptom score improved by 40%. Functional connectivity analyses revealed an increase in coupling between the temporal target seed and a fronto-cingulate-insular network that has been implicated in reality and performance monitoring. This case highlights the potential of fMRI-guided rTMS as a personalized neuromodulatory therapy for refractory AVH in schizophrenia, warranting further systematic investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1752143","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T05:26:36Z","timestamp":1769750796000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["fMRI-guided rTMS in the treatment of auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia: a case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Aykut","family":"Aytulun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University D\u00fcsseldorf","place":["D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany"]},{"name":"Department of General Psychiatry 2, LVR-Klinikum D\u00fcsseldorf","place":["D\u00fcsseldorf, 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