Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Research for Schizophrenia

Robert Buchanan MD

Introduction A psychiatrist and neurosurgeon, Robert Buchanan, MD, leads as

chief of neurosurgery at Seton Brain & Spine Institute in Austin, Texas, where he balances clinical care with research. Trained in the subspecialty of functional neurosurgery, Dr. Robert Buchanan leads his laboratory team in investigating the use of magnetic stimulation for schizophrenia and other conditions.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, creates magnetic pulses that reduce activity in a particular area of the brain. Strong but painless and brief in nature, the treatment is entirely non-invasive because the pulses are able to travel through the bone of the skull.

Although it is new and still the topic of research, TMS has become a potential treatment for some patients with schizophrenia. 

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation This serious mental illness causes patients to experience

auditory and visual hallucinations, which medication may not necessarily alleviate. TMS may offer hope to patients whose schizophrenia has not responded to medication, as well as to those who cannot or will not take medication because of its potential side effects.

According to studies published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, TMS may help to address the memory difficulties that many patients with schizophrenia experience. Research is also underway to determine whether the treatment may alleviate auditory hallucinations, which are particularly unlikely to respond to medication. Recent research shows that patients experience significantly more symptom relief with TMS than with a placebo stimulation, though more investigations must occur to verify efficacy.