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Book

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Sukhmanjeet Kaur Mann et al.
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Excerpt

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive stimulation of brain tissue through the production of the high or low-intensity magnetic field thought to modulate cortical excitability. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) refers to applying recurring TMS pulses to a specific brain region. rTMS has been studied as a potential treatment for several psychiatric and neurological disorders. The neuromodulatory effects depend upon several stimulation parameters such as frequency, intensity, duration, cortical target, number of sessions, and patient factors such as age, disease state, medication trial, and individual symptoms. Broadly, rTMS has been classified as high frequency(>1 Hz), which increases the cortical excitability, and low frequency(<1 Hz), which depresses the cortical excitability.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Sukhmanjeet Kaur Mann declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Narpinder Malhi declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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