but? In Bluhm and colleagues’ survey, responses varied. Some thought treatments that involve multiple trips to the doctor’s office are invasive because they affect a person’s time. Others see device-dependent therapy as less invasive than traditional talk-based therapy because they don’t require entertaining strangers with their own life stories. But others say TMS is invasive because of its effects on the brain.
The effects can spread throughout the brain. In theory, noninvasive forms of brain stimulation are designed to target specific regions, such as those associated with emotion.But when you stimulate the brain through the skull, it’s impossible to pinpoint tiny regions, as Nick Davies of Manchester Metropolitan University pointed out.
If TMS can help with chronic pain, depression or the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, then it must trigger some kind of change in the brain.This could be how the signaling molecule is produced, or How brain circuits are wired Or fire, or maybe some other mechanism.
Given that we still don’t really understand how TMS works, it’s hard to know how, if any, these changes affect the brain long-term.
If a treatment changes the way a person’s brain works, is it invasive? Perhaps it depends on the impact of these changes. We know that “non-invasive” forms of brain stimulation can cause headaches, convulsions and potentially seizures. Electroconvulsive therapy delivers higher doses of electrical stimulation designed to trigger seizures and possibly memory loss.
This can be very painful for some people. After all, our memories make us who we are. This touches on one of the other concerns about brain-modifying technology — the potential to change our personalities. Doctors have noticed that some people with DBS due to Parkinson’s disease do experience temporary changes in behavior. For example, they may become more impulsive or irritable.
The effects of non-invasive stimulation are unlikely to be as dramatic. But where do we draw the line – what counts as “intrusive”?
This is an important question. Treatments considered invasive are usually reserved for people who have no other options. They are considered higher risk.and treatments deemed too invasive May never be used, or even studiedaccording to Nir Lipsman, a neurosurgeon at the University of Toronto, and colleagues.
