Brain stimulation therapies : an overview of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)‎

Abstract EN

Advances in neurosciences over the last two centuries paved the way for the advent of novel therapies in the field of psychiatry.

Nevertheless, therapeutic interventions did not proceed at the same pace as expected.

In the late 1930s, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was introduced as an electric brain stimulation therapeutic technique.

More than a decade later, psychopharmacological agents revolutionized the treatment of mental disorders.

Modern brain stimulation techniques, which advanced late in the twentieth century, raised the hope that a good proportion of treatment-resistant conditions would respond.

Of these techniques, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) proved to be a significant one.

The current paper will present a brief description of modern brain stimulation therapies, focusing on trans-magnetic brain stimulation, including its evolution, the underlying mechanism of action, therapeutic application with a literature review of its safety and its efficacy.