Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive neurophysiologic technique to induce a controlled current pulse in a prespecified cortical target. This can be used to disrupt the function of the targeted cortical region to explore causal relations to behavior, assess cortical reactivity, and map out functionally relevant brain regions. This article showcases the potential of this technique. Transcranial magnetic stimulation has emerged as a tool in the field of non-invasive brain stimulation.
It operates on the Faraday's principle of electromagnetic induction by which the transmission of a large, brief pulse of current through loops of copper wire (i.e., magnetic coil) give rise to a fluctuating magnetic field. This field is perpendicular to the plane of the coil that subsequently induces an electric field. In this way, the magnetic field is used to penetrate scalp and skull,…
