Researchers at UBC and in Toronto have shown that a three-minute version of a brain stimulation treatment for hard-to-treat depression is just as effective as the standard 37-minute version.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) uses magnetic field pulses to non-invasively stimulate a part of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is associated with mood regulation. The researchers compared the standard high-frequency brain stimulation with a newer form of rTMS called intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), which mimics the brain’s natural rhythms, and was done in just one-tenth of the standard treatment time.