transcranial magnetic stimulation

noun

trans·​cra·​ni·​al magnetic stimulation ˌtran(t)s-ˈkrā-nē-əl- 

ˌtranz-

: 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. Johnson

Examples of transcranial magnetic stimulation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The researchers found that their method worked just as well using a smaller, less expensive magnet than that found in an MRI machine: a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device used to treat patients with depression, migraine, and other conditions in the clinic. —New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2024

The science of electrically zapping and magnetically pulsing meditating brains In the land of non-invasive brain stimulation, there are two giants: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and transcranial electrical stimulation (tES). —Oshan Jarow, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

The non-placebo treatments included a variety of different transcranial magnetic stimulation approaches. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 26 Sep. 2023

And there’s transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in which a wand delivers powerful magnetic pulses from outside the head to alter the activity of brain cells. —IEEE Spectrum, 16 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

transcranial magnetic stimulation

noun

: a noninvasive technique for stimulating brain neurons that uses an insulated electromagnetic coil usually placed superficially on the scalp to produce magnetic fields which generate electric currents in specific areas of the brain

Note: Transcranial magnetic stimulation is used especially to measure and map brain functions and to treat depression and neuropathic pain.

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. Johnson, The Boston Globe

After a suicide attempt in 2009, she tried something radically different: transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, a treatment in which magnetic pulses are used to stimulate parts of the brain believed to be involved in mood regulation.

—Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times

—abbreviation TMS