Since the 1980s, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to study the nerve fibers that carry information about movements from the brain to the spinal cord and on to the muscles. In the late 1990s, physicians began to explore the therapeutic potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of a variety of diseases, with depression being the most thoroughly studied to date. Since then, hundreds of randomized, controlled trials studying transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for depression have been conducted by investigators throughout the world.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) Therapy was FDA-cleared in October 2008 for patients suffering from depression who have not achieved satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medications. Using pulsed magnetic fields, transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy stimulates the part of the brain thought to be involved with mood regulation. TMS Therapy is a short outpatient procedure, performed in your psychiatrist’s office under his or her supervision while you remain awake and alert. The typical initial course of treatment is about 20 minutes, daily over 6 weeks.
How Does TMS Work?
During the procedure, a powerful electromagnet is placed over an area of the brain associated with mood regulation. Magnetic pulses are then delivered consecutively to stimulate nerves and depolarize superficial cortical neurons in the brain. TMS treatment requires no surgery or sedation of any kind and patients can resume regular activity immediately after each treatment session. Through a magnetic coil, TMS Therapy generates highly concentrated, magnetic fields which turn on and off very rapidly. These magnetic fields are the same type and strength as those produced by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine.
TMS works by stimulating brain cells in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, prompting the electrical signal to travel through the neuron to its synapse and trigger the release of neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft. These electrical currents activate cells within the brain which are thought to release neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The more neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft, the more receptor sites are needed on the receiving synapse. As a result, neurons begin to develop more connections with each other. As the stimulation is repeated, the rate of electrical signaling increases and this neuronal activity eventually becomes self-sustaining. Since depression is thought to be the result of an imbalance of these chemicals in the brain, TMS can restore that balance and, thus, relieve depression.
During the procedure, a powerful electromagnet is placed over an area of the brain associated with mood regulation. Magnetic pulses are then delivered consecutively to stimulate nerves and depolarize superficial cortical neurons in the brain. TMS treatment requires no surgery or sedation of any kind and patients can resume regular activity immediately after each treatment session. Through a magnetic coil, TMS Therapy generates highly concentrated, magnetic fields which turn on and off very rapidly. These magnetic fields are the same type and strength as those produced by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine.
TMS works by stimulating brain cells in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, prompting the electrical signal to travel through the neuron to its synapse and trigger the release of neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft. These electrical currents activate cells within the brain which are thought to release neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The more neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft, the more receptor sites are needed on the receiving synapse. As a result, neurons begin to develop more connections with each other. As the stimulation is repeated, the rate of electrical signaling increases and this neuronal activity eventually becomes self-sustaining. Since depression is thought to be the result of an imbalance of these chemicals in the brain, TMS can restore that balance and, thus, relieve depression.
During the procedure, a powerful electromagnet is placed over an area of the brain associated with mood regulation. Magnetic pulses are then delivered consecutively to stimulate nerves and depolarize superficial cortical neurons in the brain. TMS treatment requires no surgery or sedation of any kind and patients can resume regular activity immediately after each treatment session. Through a magnetic coil, TMS Therapy generates highly concentrated, magnetic fields which turn on and off very rapidly. These magnetic fields are the same type and strength as those produced by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine.
TMS works by stimulating brain cells in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, prompting the electrical signal to travel through the neuron to its synapse and trigger the release of neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft. These electrical currents activate cells within the brain which are thought to release neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The more neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft, the more receptor sites are needed on the receiving synapse. As a result, neurons begin to develop more connections with each other. As the stimulation is repeated, the rate of electrical signaling increases and this neuronal activity eventually becomes self-sustaining. Since depression is thought to be the result of an imbalance of these chemicals in the brain, TMS can restore that balance and, thus, relieve depression.
How Does TMS Work?
During the procedure, a powerful electromagnet is placed over an area of the brain associated with mood regulation. Magnetic pulses are then delivered consecutively to stimulate nerves and depolarize superficial cortical neurons in the brain. TMS treatment requires no surgery or sedation of any kind and patients can resume regular activity immediately after each treatment session. Through a magnetic coil, TMS Therapy generates highly concentrated, magnetic fields which turn on and off very rapidly. These magnetic fields are the same type and strength as those produced by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine.
TMS works by stimulating brain cells in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, prompting the electrical signal to travel through the neuron to its synapse and trigger the release of neurotransmitters across the synaptic cleft. These electrical currents activate cells within the brain which are thought to release neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The more neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft, the more receptor sites are needed on the receiving synapse. As a result, neurons begin to develop more connections with each other. As the stimulation is repeated, the rate of electrical signaling increases and this neuronal activity eventually becomes self-sustaining. Since depression is thought to be the result of an imbalance of these chemicals in the brain, TMS can restore that balance and, thus, relieve depression.