Depression is a common but challenging mental health condition that triggers various mental, emotional, and physical symptoms. Typically, the first line of treatment involves antidepressant medications. However, these are not effective for many people. After trying one or two antidepressants that do not successfully alleviate your symptoms, your diagnosis may change to treatment-resistant depression. This may sound discouraging, but with this diagnosis, there will be other forms of treatment available to you that have the potential to significantly reduce your symptoms.
NeuroStar Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is one of those treatments. We use TMS as part of a whole-person approach to mental health care that supports your recovery and quality of life. TMS takes advantage of your brain’s plasticity to reduce or eliminate symptoms. Call us today to learn about NeuroStar TMS and brain plasticity in depression and how the treatment can help improve your symptoms and quality of life.
Brain plasticity, also called neuroplasticity, is the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt and change throughout your life. This happens as the brain cells reorganize and form neural connections, allowing you to adjust to different experiences, learn new information, and recover from injuries. Brain plasticity makes the brain more efficient and adaptable, and through treatment with TMS, it can be harnessed to reduce symptoms of depression.
There are several mechanisms involved in brain plasticity, the first of which is at the synapses, where strengthening or weakening of the connections between neurons changes brain function. Your brain can produce new neurons or grow new branches from existing neurons.
Your brain also removes unnecessary or damaged neurons. Each of these steps is important in brain plasticity. This concept challenges the outdated belief that the brain is a static organ, showing instead that it is dynamic and capable of growth and organization at any age.
For example, after a person has had a stroke, their recovery is the result of brain plasticity as the brain reorganizes, allowing movement and speech to return in some cases. Strengthening pathways allows you to acquire new skills and information. This is the process behind learning a new language or how to ride a bike. Your brain can also adapt when you experience a sensory change, such as loss of eyesight or hearing.
TMS uses electromagnetic stimulation to produce electrical charges in the brain, which are targeted at specific areas known to control mood disorders. It is a non-invasive treatment that has been effective in treating areas of the brain that are often underactive in individuals with depression.
Repetitively stimulating these regions helps to normalize your brain activity and promote good communication between different areas of the brain. It also encourages synaptic plasticity, which strengthens the formation of new connections between neurons.
Over time, this helps rewire your neural pathways, leading to long-lasting improvements in symptoms. As a neural network becomes more balanced and efficient, you experience a reduction in symptoms such as persistent sadness, lack of motivation, or anxiety.
Brain plasticity is critical because it allows the brain to adapt to change in response to treatment. TMS essentially helps train the brain to adopt more functional patterns by using brain plasticity, making it a powerful tool for treating symptoms of depression when you have not responded to traditional treatments such as medication or therapy.
We know that your mental and emotional health do not exist in a vacuum, so while TMS therapy can help to treat depression, we use a whole-person approach to promote greater brain plasticity and support sustainable recovery. Several lifestyle choices, including talk therapy, exercise, and good nutrition, have been proven to effectively reduce depression symptoms, but these are usually difficult to make when you struggle with a lack of motivation and an overwhelming feeling of sadness and fatigue. However, the combination of our CHOOSE LIFE program and TMS therapy can help you overcome these challenges and develop strategies that support long-term recovery.
Depression is a common mental health condition that does not typically go away on its own. If you have found antidepressant medications to be ineffective in treating your symptoms, we encourage you to call us to learn more about NeuroStar TMS and brain plasticity in depression and how our whole-person approach to mental health can help to reduce or eliminate your symptoms.
Adult Indications for Use
The NeuroStar Advanced Therapy System is indicated for the treatment of depressive episodes and for decreasing anxiety symptoms for those who may exhibit comorbid anxiety symptoms in adult patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and who failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from previous antidepressant medication treatment in the current episode.
The NeuroStar Advanced Therapy System is intended to be used as an adjunct for the treatment of adult patients suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Important Safety Information
NeuroStar Advanced Therapy is only available by prescription. A doctor can help decide if NeuroStar Advanced Therapy is right for you. Patients’ results may vary.
The most common side effect is pain or discomfort at or near the treatment site. These events are transient; they occur during the TMS treatment course and do not occur for most patients after the first week of treatment. There is a rare risk of seizure associated with the use of TMS therapy (<0.1% per patient).
Visit neurostar.com for full safety and prescribing information.
