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0 pointsrdgthree5mo ago0 comments

Of course!

But also:

> Although the biology of why TMS works isn't completely understood, the stimulation appears to affect how the brain is working.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/transcranial-mag...

I think it's reasonable to assume there's room to sharpen our understanding of it quite a bit.

0 comments

neuah5mo ago

I think you're conflating one question with another. The "why" in question is why altering neural activity in that way results in clinical effects. It is not the "why" TMS alters neural activity.

rdgthreeOP5mo ago

I appreciate that you feel this way, but the mechanisms behind exactly which neural circuits are activated by TMS are simply not yet fully understood.

From 2024:

> Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive, FDA-cleared treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders with broad potential for new applications, but the neural circuits that are engaged during TMS are still poorly understood.

[0]https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371%2F...

neuah5mo ago

Again, different question. We know, fundamentally, how TMS causes stimulation/suppression of neural activity, and it does not require magnetoreception. Look at it this way: we don't fully understand how SSRI's cure depression, but we do know their primary target and that their mechanism of action is mediated through that primary target.

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0 comments

neuah5mo ago

I think you're conflating one question with another. The "why" in question is why altering neural activity in that way results in clinical effects. It is not the "why" TMS alters neural activity.

rdgthreeOP5mo ago

I appreciate that you feel this way, but the mechanisms behind exactly which neural circuits are activated by TMS are simply not yet fully understood.

From 2024:

[0]https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371%2F...

neuah5mo ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse