Education

A growing body of evidence suggests that depression and many other mental illnesses can be safely and noninvasively treated by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

The Elata Foundation is dedicated to promoting research into TMS. Peer-reviewed studies have given hope to the millions who cannot be helped with any other modern therapy.

In 2005, Time Magazine reported “patients and doctors [are] cheered by early tests” in applying TMS to treat depression which could not be cured by medications. It is estimated that up to 30 percent of cases of depression are resistant to drug therapy. In 2006, they again wrote about TMS, this time to describe Australian researchers who appear to have “landed a blow on a deadly and neglected nerve disease.” This disease is motor neuron disease, and despite having been identified almost 150 years ago, it typically takes many months to diagnose in a clinical setting, as no diagnostic test exists. TMS makes it possible to perform a diagnosis within minutes. In addition to other stories in widely read newspapers, such as The New York Times and Newsweek, there is an enormous amount of peer-reviewed scientific literature available on TMS. The Elata Foundation seeks to educate the public by archiving and reviewing many of these publications.

The MIT Technology Review has written the following description of TMS: “A doctor typically holds a powerful magnet over the frontal regions of the patient’s skull and delivers magnetic pulses for a few minutes a day, over the course of a few weeks... magnetic stimulation seems to affect several interconnected brain regions, starting in the cortex and moving to the deep brain, where new cell growth may be important in regulating moods.” Transcranial magnetic stimulation is not related to electroconvulsive therapy and patients undergoing TMS normally experience only minor sensations of discomfort, if any.

Other exciting research developments exist which may one day aid those who suffer with migraines, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mania or anxiety disorders. TMS is also being used to investigate the brains of autistic savants, who exhibit extraordinary mental abilities which are not currently understood by science. These studies may one day help us to understand the nature of intelligence itself.

As a non-profit research and educational organization, Elata needs your support to sponsor scientific research and continue to provide useful educational material to the public. We are eager to see TMS grow into a widely used therapeutic tool which can be used in clinical settings to both treat mental illnesses and help scientists to further understand how the mind works.