This concise overview of TMS offers practical guidance for psychiatrists and other clinicians using it as a therapy, or referring their patients to have this done, as well as updating the field for neuroscientists and neurologists. It begins with background on the physics and safety of TMS, a guide for administering the procedure, and a review of basic neurophysiological studies with TMS, showing how it can be used to measure connectivity and excitability of the cerebral cortex. The heart of book is then devoted to its clinical applications, organized by disorder: Epilepsy, movement disorders, and pain -- describes the use of TMS in inducing and inhibiting seizures and investigating their pathophysiology; in treating Parkinson's disease; and in relieving pain through motor cortex stimulation Major depression -- provides a critical review of research in the most-studied clinical application of TMS in psychiatry, where it is used as a therapeutic intervention and a neurophysiological probe Mania -- explores the effectiveness of TMS in light of its ECT-like properties through a trial of right TMS vs. sham TMS Anxiety disorders -- reports on investigations on the uses of TMS in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder Schizophrenia -- reviews studies utilizing single- or paired-pulse TMS to assess cortical inhibition and those that explore effects of extended trains of repetitive TMS in altering symptoms
A further chapter on TMS in brain imaging shows how integrating imaging and TMS allows one to better place the TMS coil, better understand TMS effects on the brain, and improve understanding of how the brain mediates behavior. With a concluding overview of prospects for the future of repetitive TMS, this volume offers a definitive look at this cutting-edge research and provides critical guidance on how and when clinicians might use TMS in their practice.
Mark S. George, M.D., is Director of the Center for Advanced Imaging Research; Director of the Brain Stimulation Laboratory; and University Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Radiology, and Neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.
Robert H. Belmaker, M.D., is Hoffer-Vickar Professor of Psychiatry at Beer Sheva Mental Health Center and on the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva, Israel. He is President-elect of CINP, the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology.