Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Teenage Depression

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Teenage Depression

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Because of rising rates of anxiety, depression and other mental health concerns among adolescents, TMS has been used off-label for many years to treat depression among teenagers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013-2023¹ highlights the scope of the problem, with 40 percent of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 20 percent seriously contemplating suicide, and close to 10 percent having made at least one suicide attempt. While trends show incremental improvement, the problem remains substantially and dangerously underaddressed

Recently, the FDA approved an indication for using TMS for adolescents 15 years and up, using the NeuroStar TMS Therapy system (Neuronetics, Inc.), paving the way for broader applications. The study that led the FDA to approve the use of TMS for teenagers is discussed in more detail below, following an overview of what TMS is and how it works.

What Is TMS?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a treatment FDA-cleared in 2008 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adults. In brief, TMS works by stimulating various areas of the surface of the brain, or cerebral cortex. Because TMS uses a strong, changing magnetic field, it stimulates neurons in the areas underneath the magnetic coil. Because magnetic fields, like sound and light, get weaker the further away from their source, TMS affects deeper brain areas indirectly–through their connections with the cortex, via aptly-named “cortical windows”. High frequency TMS tends to increase brain activity, and low frequency TMS tends to suppress it, an effect that gets established over the course of multiple treatment sessions, over the course of days to weeks.

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