Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Treatment for Pain in Parkinson's Disease

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive method that uses electromagnetic induction to produce electric currents in the cortex that are strong enough to depolarise neurons sufficiently to trigger action potentials. It is an outpatient based procedure that when used in conjunction with a neuro-navigation system, specific cortical areas can be targeted for greater accuracy and efficacy. In clinical studies, TMS is delivered as trains of pulses (repetitive TMS, rTMS) to prolong its effects. While the exact mechanism of TMS-induced analgesia is unknown, it is thought to regulate the activity of the complex cortical and subcortical networks involved in the processing of painful signals and possibly strengthening the endogenous descending pain modulation system