transcranial magnetic stimulation
noun
trans·cra·ni·al magnetic stimulation
| \ ˌtran(t)s-ˈkrā-nē-əl-
, ˌtranz-\
, ˌtranz-\
Definition of transcranial magnetic stimulation
: a noninvasive technique for stimulating brain neurons that uses an insulated electromagnetic coil placed superficially on the skull to produce magnetic fields which penetrate cranial tissue and generate electric currents in specific areas of the brain
—abbreviation TMS
Note: Transcranial magnetic stimulation is used especially to test and localize brain functions and to treat depression and some forms of pain.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation, which has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for depression, targets neurons in areas of the brain involved in mood by placing a magnetic coil on the head.— Sarah Baldauf Now a small but growing number of researchers see hope in a tool called transcranial magnetic stimulation, which lets scientists spark activity in specific areas of the brain and watch what happens to patients' behavior.— Carolyn Y. JohnsonExamples of transcranial magnetic stimulation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The device uses repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS, to work with therapy to further reduce PTSD symptoms. — Jordan Wilkerson, Dallas News, "UTD lab's marketing challenge: Recruit veterans for PTSD study," 15 Aug. 2019 Initially, most evidence for mirroring in humans was derived from studies that probed the activity of millions of neurons simultaneously, using techniques such as fMRI, EEG, magnetoencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation. — Raleigh Mcelvery, WIRED, "How the Brain Links Gestures, Perception, and Meaning," 31 Mar. 2019 Initially, most evidence for mirroring in humans was derived from studies that probed the activity of millions of neurons simultaneously, using techniques such as fMRI, EEG, magnetoencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation. — Quanta Magazine, "How the Brain Links Gestures, Perception and Meaning," 25 Mar. 2019 Low-current brain stimulation has been studied for years, and is different from transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is increasingly being used to treat depression. — Ian Haydon, Philly.com, "Could a therapy for brain damage also decrease violent impulses?," 2 July 2018 Migraine specialists are also exploring other treatments, including forehead and eyelid surgery to decompress branches of the trigeminal nerve, as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a noninvasive way of altering nerve cell activity. — David Noonan, Scientific American, "New Nerve Drugs May Finally Prevent Migraine Headaches," 1 Dec. 2015 The hope is to then use neurostimulation, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, to activate those circuits in a more fruitful way. — Stacey Burling, Philly.com, "Strange but true: Sleep deprivation can help depression. Penn scientists want to know why," 21 Sep. 2017 Scientists from the Würzburg University Hospital in Germany have been experimenting with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), using targeted magnetic fields to trigger increased activity in particular parts of the brain. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Will Magnets and VR Cure Your Weird Phobia?," 18 Sep. 2017 The article is packed with descriptions of cutting-edge treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "Unraveling the mysteries of the addicted brain," 2 Sep. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'transcranial magnetic stimulation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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