4. Discussion
MDD, depression
This is the first nationwide pilot RCT that evaluated the effects of TPS on adults with MDD in Hong Kong. Although the mechanism of TMS, tDCS, and TPS are different, previous studies have proven that stimulating the DLPFC region was effective. In this trial, we targeted the DLPFC in order to evaluate the effects of TPS on depression. Our results show that participants’ immediate post-stimulation scores showed a significant reduction in depression symptoms and the effect size (ES) was very large (Cohen’s d = 0.9). More importantly, the effect of TPS is sustainable at the 3-month follow-up period (Cohen’s 