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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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Psychiatric Neurotherapeutics

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Psychiatry ((CCPSY))

Abstract

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation technique based on the application of powerful and rapidly changing magnetic fields on the skull surface that generate targeted electrical currents in the brain, painlessly and without the need for surgery, anesthesia, or the induction of seizures. Since its development in the mid-1980s, it has become a widely used tool for neuroscience research and clinical applications, both diagnostic and therapeutic. In 2008, the US Federal Drug Administration approved the use of high-frequency repetitive TMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for the treatment of major depressive disorder, and in 2013 the use of deep TMS H-coils was also approved for the same indication. In the present chapter, we will review the principles and clinical applications of TMS, with a focus on antidepressant therapy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149, 13th street, Boston, MA, 02129, USA

    Joan A. Camprodon M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

  2. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Clinical Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149, 13th street, Boston, MA, 02129, USA

    Joan A. Camprodon M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

  3. Division on Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Joan A. Camprodon M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

  4. Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Joan A. Camprodon M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

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  1. Joan A. Camprodon M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Joan A. Camprodon M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School, Dept of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Gen Hosp, Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Joan A. Camprodon

  2. McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA

    Scott L. Rauch

  3. Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Benjamin D. Greenberg

  4. Harvard Medical School, Charleston, Massachusetts, USA

    Darin D. Dougherty

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Camprodon, J.A. (2016). Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. In: Camprodon, J., Rauch, S., Greenberg, B., Dougherty, D. (eds) Psychiatric Neurotherapeutics. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-495-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-495-7_8

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