Review on TMS for therapy
There’s a nice NRN review on the many recent papers on therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Is there a future for therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation?
The past year has seen the publication of a remarkable number of papers about the potential therapeutic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in conditions ranging from cocaine addiction to stroke and depression. Are we witnessing the discovery of a miraculous cure-all or will this bubble burst like the magnetotherapies of the Victorian era1? We argue below that there is good evidence that rTMS can produce after-effects on the brain, and that these translate into effects on simple behaviours. However, the rationale for applying the same methods to treat disease is in many cases unclear.