Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation News and Research

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Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex involved in cognitive aspects of ToM, says study

The ability to infer what another person is thinking is an essential tool for social interaction and is known by neuroscientists as "Theory of Mind" (ToM), but how does the brain actually allow us to do this? We are able to rationally infer what someone knows, thinks, or intends, but we are also able to "slip into their shoes" and infer how they feel, and it seems that the brain processes these different types of information in different ways, as confirmed by a new report in the June 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex.

5 May 2010

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation induces remission in patients with treatment-resistant depression

Daily transcranial magnetic stimulation—an intervention that uses magnetic currents to activate certain brain areas—appears to help induce remission in patients with treatment-resistant depression, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 May 2010

New finding reveals how brain constructs morality

MIT neuroscientists have shown they can influence people's moral judgments by disrupting a specific brain region - a finding that helps reveal how the brain constructs morality.

31 Mar 2010

Posible new method to assess loss of consciousness

The brains of people under anesthesia respond to stimuli as they do in the deepest part of sleep - lending credence to a developing theory of consciousness and suggesting a new method to assess loss of consciousness in conditions such as coma.

28 Jan 2010

Grant of $2 million awarded to understand PIGD in Parkinson's disease

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has awarded a total of $2 million to five research teams carrying out clinical studies to refine understanding of postural instability and gait disturbances (PIGD) in Parkinson's disease, and help speed the development of urgently needed treatments.

29 Dec 2009

Magnetic stimulation therapy can treat depression

Magnetic stimulation therapy can beat depression when medication and therapy haven't worked, according to the December issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

23 Dec 2009

Nexstim's Navigated Brain Stimulation System receives FDA clearance

Nexstim Oy, a medical device company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Navigated Brian Stimulation System for use in the assessment of the primary motor cortex for pre-procedural planning.

10 Dec 2009

Rush University Medical Center opens TMS Clinic to offer non-drug treatment for depression

Rush University Medical Center has opened the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic to offer patients suffering from major depression a safe, effective, non-drug treatment. TMS therapy is the first FDA-approved, non-invasive antidepressant device-based treatment clinically proven for treatment of depression.

6 Nov 2009

New neurosurgical procedure may prove helpful for patients with treatment-resistant depression

A new neurosurgical procedure may prove helpful for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Bilateral epidural prefrontal cortical stimulation (EpCS) was found generally safe and provided significant improvement of depressive symptoms in a small group of patients, according to lead researcher Ziad Nahas, M.D. at the Medical University of South Carolina. The data are reported in the on-line issue of Biological Psychiatry.

14 Oct 2009

Neuronetics raises funds to expand sales team for NeuroStar TMS Therapy

New Leaf Venture Partners (NLV Partners) announced today it has led a $30 million Series D financing round in Neuronetics, Inc., maker of NeuroStar TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) Therapy® for the treatment of depression.

3 Sep 2009

Magnetic brain stimulation improves skill learning

The use of magnetic pulses to stimulate the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) region of the brain results in an improved ability to learn a skilled motor task. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience show that skilled movements can be stored as memories in the PMd and that magnetic stimulation of this area can facilitate this learning process.

6 Jul 2009

Sport related concussions affect mental and physical processes later in life

Researchers have found the first evidence that athletes who were concussed during their earlier sporting life show a decline in their mental and physical processes more than 30 years later.

29 Jan 2009

Hand-held magnetic pulse device relieves migraines

The therapy known as noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, sparks a magnetic pulse which, when held against a person's head, creates an electric current among the nerves cells of the brain.

30 Jun 2008

Brain stimulation to improve cognitive function

A Columbia University Medical Center research team has uncovered how stimulation of a particular brain region can help stave off the deficits in working memory, associated with an extended sleep deprivation.

5 Feb 2008

Help for musician's dystonia

Therapy that stimulates the hand muscles may help treat the condition called musician's dystonia, a movement disorder that causes muscles spasms in musicians, according to a study published in the December 26, 2007, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Dec 2007

Transcranial magnetic stimulation effective treatment for major depression

For the first time in a large-scale study, transcranial magnetic stimulation has been shown to be an effective, non-drug treatment for major depression.

5 Dec 2007

Transcranial magnetic stimulation effective in treating major depression

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and other study sites have found that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – a non-invasive technique that excites neurons in the brain via magnetic pulses passed through the scalp – is a safe and effective, non-drug treatment with minimal side effects for patients with major depression who have tried other treatment options without benefit.

27 Nov 2007