Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Current Clinical Psychiatry book series (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.

Keywords

TMS rTMS Transcranial magnetic stimulation Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation Noninvasive neuromodulation Brain stimulation Neurotherapeutics Depression MDD TRD Mood disorders 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Laboratory for Neuropsychiatry and NeuromodulationMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUSA
  2. 2.Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Clinical ServiceMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUSA
  3. 3.Division on Neuropsychiatry, Department of PsychiatryMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUSA
  4. 4.Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Department of NeurologyMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUSA

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