Transcranial magnetic stimulation as a tool for assessment and modulation of cortical excitability in patients with major depression (original) (raw)

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Depression and Anxiety

2019

If you have not yet heard of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), in essence, it is a form of neuro-modulation; meaning that is works directly on the nervous system by stimulating certain regions of the brain, showing promise in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety, as well as lesser known instances of conditions such as chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, ADHD, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and even helping in rehabilitation after stroke. TMS is considered a non-invasive procedure (for example as compared to ECT or Electroconvulsive Therapy), where an individual receives multiple repeated stimulation in targeted regions of the brain (the prefrontal cortex) via a magnetic field generator that delivers pulses of electrical currents, in order to stimulate neuron activity (in depression) or inhibit excessive neuron activity in people with anxiety disorders.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders

Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 1999

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a new technology that applies the principles of electromagnetism to deliver an electrical field to the cerebral cortices. Well established in diagnostic electrophysiology, TMS is now being studied as a treatment for psychiatric disorders. Evidence suggests this technique is safe and acceptable to patients. The future may see the application of TMS in obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumantic stress disorder and mania. There is strong evidence that it will become an accepted treatment of depression.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Research Tool in Cognitive Neuroscience

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a neurostimulation and neuromodulation technique that induces electric field in the brain based on Faraday’s principle of electro-magnetic induction and thus interferes with the neural processing. Although its roots stem to the first half of the 19th century, the first successful stimulation of the human cortex was performed in 1985 by Barker (Barker, Jalinous, & Freeston, 1985). Since then, the number of published papers reporting the use of TMS has been increasing rapidly (Rossi, Hallett, Rossini, & Pascual-Leone, 2009). Despite the growing popularity of the method, the mechanisms by which it influences brain activity are not completely understood. This review gives a brief overview of the recent theories and the supporting evidence. However, the main focus of this review is the use of TMS as a research tool in cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. I will try to illustrate the broad possibilities of application of TMS in these fields, what questions it could answer, how this technique could be combined with neuroimaging, and discuss the safety considerations related to the use of TMS in non-clinical settings.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation: applications in basic neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology

The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2000

Introduced 15 years ago, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive means of stimulating the cortex that has proved to be a unique tool for probing brain-behaviour relationships. While a therapeutic role for TMS in neuropsychiatry is uncertain, the utility of TMS in studying brain function has been demonstrated in diverse neuroscience applications. We review studies in animals on the mechanisms of action of TMS, and present a summary of the applications of TMS in basic neuroscience. TMS is still a relatively young technique, and unanswered questions remain regarding its acute and chronic impact on neural excitability and various aspects of brain function. Nonetheless, recent work with TMS has demonstrated its unique role in complementing other tools for studying brain function. As a brain intervention tool, TMS holds the promise of moving beyond correlative studies to help define the functional role of cortical regions in selected cognitive and affective processes.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of neurological disease

Objective: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive and easily tolerated method of altering cortical physiology. The authors evaluate evidence from the last decade supporting a possible role for TMS in the treatment of depression and explore clinical and technical considerations that might bear on treatment success.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation: the method and application

Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 2006

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive method for stimulation of brain that is based on the ability of magnetic field to penetrate skull and brain meninges, subsequently inducing electric current in the brain tissues that produces neuronal depolarization and generation of action potentials. Moreover, transcranial magnetic stimulation has effects on neurochemical and synaptic processes in neurons. Due to its easy use and relatively fair side effects, nowadays, transcranial magnetic stimulation is widely used in neurosciences and medicine. The main areas of transcranial magnetic stimulation application are: 1) the investigation of cortical and spinal excitability, 2) the investigation of neuronal plasticity, 3) the investigation of neuronal connectivity, 4) functional mapping, and 5) the treatment of some neurological and psychiatric disorders. Transcranial magnetic stimulation alone or in combination with other noninvasive neuroimaging (PET--positron emission topography, ...