TMS’ Effects on the Brain
Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, also called TMS therapy, is a non-surgical treatment used for certain mental health and mind-body disorders, such as:
- Autism
- Bipolar disorder
- Clinical depression
- Parkinson’s disease.
TMS therapy uses a magnetic field to stimulate the areas of the brain affected by the specific disorder. During TMS brain stimulation for depression, that part of the brain is known as the left prefrontal cortex.
TMS Brain Stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive procedure. During TMS therapy, a mild electrical current is passed through a magnetic coil. The current passing through the magnetic coil generates an electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic field is the same frequency generated by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine used for medical diagnoses.
The magnetic coil is then placed on a therapeutic part of the outside of the patient’s head. The magnetic field passes right through hair, skin and bone to stimulate a targeted region of the brain. Often the area of the brain targeted is no bigger than one square centimeter.
Transcranial magnetic therapy has several effects on the brain, including changing the rates at which nerve cells fire and changing the blood flow in the brain.
Electricity and Brain Activity
TMS brain stimulation causes an electrical current to flow in the brain, but the patient is unable to feel it. During treatment, patients do not need to be sedated.
Electrical currents in the brain are normal. In fact, electricity is how the brain transmits messages from one nerve to another. When a person sees, hears, smells, tastes or touches something, these sensory impressions show up in the brain as electricity.
How Does TMS Brain Stimulation Work?
Once the electromagnetic current induced by TMS brain stimulation takes effect, the brain’s nerve cells are stimulated. This brain stimulation leads to an increase in the flow of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.
Although the roles of each of these chemicals within the brain is not yet entirely understood in the treatment of depression, researchers have learned that an increase in the flow of these three neurotransmitters seems to decrease the symptoms of clinical depression.
TMS Treatment for Depression
TMS brain stimulation was first conceived in 1985. In 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared it as an outpatient treatment procedure for patients with certain mental health issues, including depression. It has been widely used since then, particularly for patients that don’t respond to the traditional depression therapies of medication and psychotherapy.
Neuronetics NeuroStar TMS Therapy® was the first such treatment to be FDA-cleared. Since then, TMS brain stimulation has been shown to be safe and effective in many cases.
Resources
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Staff. (n.d.) Welcome to TMS. Retrieved May 23, 2010 from the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging website: www.martinos.org/tms/.
Chatham, C. (2008). The magnetic scrambler: TMS’s effects on neurovascular coupling. Retrieved May 23, 2010 from the Developing Intelligence website: scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2008/01/magnet_to_the_head_tmss_effect.php.
Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Transcranial magnetic stimulation. Retrieved May 19, 2010 from the Mayo Clinic website: www.mayoclinic.com/health/transcranial-magnetic-stimulation/MY00185.
Neuronetics Staff. (2010). How TMS therapy works. Retrieved May 19, 2010 from the Neuronetics website: neuronetics.com/Prod-How.aspx.
Neuronetics Staff. (2010). The NeuroStar TMS Therapy® system. Retrieved May 19, 2010 from the Neuronetics website: neuronetics.com/Prod-System.aspx.
The Brain Treatment Center Staff. (n.d.). What is TMS? Retrieved May 23, 2010 from The Brain Treatment Center website: www.braintreatmentcenter.com/tms.html.