Dr David Pitcher is a lecturer and neuroscientist in the Department of Psychology, University of York, UK, and will present his seminar ‘Can Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation be used to Treat Mental Illness?’ on Monday 4 December at 13h00 at the Adler Museum of Medicine, Wits Medical School. Please see attached invitation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive neuro-stimulation technique that can modulate human brain activity. TMS is widely used in Psychology and Neuroscience departments across the world to study basic cognitive and motor functions. However, since the late 1990s there has been a growing interest in using TMS as a treatment for a variety of different mental health disorders. This interest was significantly strengthened in 2008 when the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved TMS as a treatment to alleviate the effects of depression in patients unresponsive to antidepressant medication. In my talk, I will outline how TMS is currently being used to treat a range of mental disorders, and discuss whether the promises made by clinicians are warranted.
Here is Dr Pitcher on The One Show demonstrating TMS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bca2X3xtwo
Hope to see you there for discussions on this exciting topic.