Body: | Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
Mental Illness Depression Brain Treatments
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Summary:
In 1985 AD, Anthony Barker, proposed using Transcranial Magnetic
Stimulation (TMS) to introduce electricity to the brain for medical
treatment. Mark S. George began to apply this new method of shocking the
brain to psychiatry in the treatment of depression, OCD and schizophrenia.
The brain is an electric organ that runs on 1/10th of a single volt. TMS
shocks the brain with 100 times that voltage through magnetic induction
coils. "The most obvious and dangerous side effect of rTMS is the induction
of epileptic seizures, and experience shows that currently available
equipment is powerful enough to produce them readily." (Transcranial
magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H.
Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 31) Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
(rTMS) generates electricity about 2 inches inside the brain with
electromagnets and is a milder, gentler form of ECT (Electro-convulsive
shock therapy). The entire theory underlying TMS in psychiatry is a form of
neo-phrenology, that wrongly believed different parts of the brain can be
specifically mapped to single emotions or moods. TMS applies electricity to
these "emotion centers" of the brain in an effort to modify those emotions.
They use the exact language of phrenology, but in modern scientific terms:
"localize functions within the human brain" "activation of selective mood
circuits" "investigate brain mechanisms underlying specific emotions"
"stimulation at different scalp locations derived largely from best-guess
assumptions" They even admit the historical connection with phrenology:
"TMS as a neuroscience probe fits within a historical current of attempting
to localize functions within the human brain." (Transcranial magnetic
stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker,
2007 AD, p 31) This is pure junk science at its worst, since it was
debunked over 200 years ago. Chemical psychiatrists reject the human spirit
as a myth and therefore are forced to believe all emotion is the result of
physical brain function and speak of "mood circuits". Before phrenology,
Lavater's physiognomy, wrongly taught the shape of a persons skull
determined their mental abilities. Christians can see the error of this
thinking since the Bible says that emotions, will and choices have their
origin in the human spirit, not the physical brain. TMS interrupts and
disrupts normal brain function. TMS causes "lesions" in specific parts of
the brain the size of a quarter (1 inch) which are like pressing the pause
button on your music player for the duration of the shock. The procedure is
entirely experimental and unproven. Only a few actual studies have been
conducted, all of which are small, unscientific and unrepeatable in their
conclusions. The therapeutic results are small and well within the error
margin of the placebo effect: "Open studies with rTMS in depression have
been compelling, but the possibility of placebo response must be kept in
mind in interpreting these results, given that smaller effect sizes have
generally been observed in controlled, blinded trials." (Transcranial
magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H.
Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 133) If TMS, or any brain shocking psychiatric therapy
would be effective, it would be important to be able to map the regions of
the brain for individual emotions. This has been tried and tried and tried
over and over and over again... and there is no direct correlation between
the parts of the brain and emotions, thoughts etc. Changes in blood flow in
part of the brain that are shocked have been reported: "neural response to
TMS correlated directly to changes in blood flow to the region." (Neural
Activity Connected To Blood Flow In New Brain Stimulation Technique,
Science Daily, Oct. 11, 2007) However, similar changes in blood flow are
reported in you finger, when you stick it in a light socket and get a
shock. The idea of blood flow related to the cause and cure of insanity is
a throw back to our "hero of modern psychiatry" Benjamin Rush, who taught
in 1812 AD that insanity was caused by bloated blood vessels: "the cause of
madness is seated primarily in the blood-vessels of the brain". TMS is pure
junk-pop psychiatry at its worst and millions of dollars are being wasted
in research! Applying electricity to the brain to affect emotion is like
hitting the USB cable that connects your computer to the printer with a
hammer and expecting some improvements in print quality. (Repetitive
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, rTMS)
"But the more lucrative application for DBS is as a treatment for
refractory depression rather than OCD. As of late 2006, a number of groups
are chasing success in this area. Unlike OCD, however, there is no
consensus on what brain circuitry is affected in depression, and without
such accord, many question whether the hazards of this treatment are worth
pursuing for a condition that can often clear up miraculously without
treatment. DBS may well offer benefits, but efforts to develop it, at least
for depression, have the potential to inflict the kind of damage on
psychiatry's current stock of physical therapies that psychosurgery
inflicted in the 1950s, bringing the whole field to a standstill once
more." (Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental
Illness, Edward Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 283)
Introduction:
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is utterly worthless in the
treatment of depression or any so called mental illness apart from the
placebo effect. The therapeutic results small and well within the error
margin of the placebo effect: "Open studies with rTMS in depression have
been compelling, but the possibility of placebo response must be kept in
mind in interpreting these results, given that smaller effect sizes have
generally been observed in controlled, blinded trials." (Transcranial
magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H.
Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 133)
In short, is it a form of neo-phrenology, that wrongly believes
different parts of the brain can be specifically mapped to single emotions.
TMS applies electricity to these "emotion centers" of the brain in an
effort to modify those emotions. This is pure junk science at its worst,
since it was debunked over 200 years ago. Before this, Lavater's
physiognomy, taught the shape of a persons skull determined their mental
abilities.
Click to View
TMS and "Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation" (rTMS) are
ways of generating electricity about 2 inches inside the brain with
electromagnets and is a milder, gentler form of ECT (Electro-convulsive
shock therapy).
There are several ways of getting electricity inside the brain.
First, Electro-convulsive shock therapy that takes two wires and puts .9
amps at 450 volts DC for 6 seconds directly on the skull, enough to an 84
watt light bulb. Anybody who has taken a high school introductory course on
electricity knows this is more than enough to burn and kill living brain
tissue. TMS differs from ECT in that it can pinpoint where the electricity
is generated in an area the size of a quarter. 2 inches below the skull.
Second, Deep brain stimulation. Third, TMS through magnetic induction.
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TMS is a method of inducing man made seizures with electricity
applied to the brain like ECT, but on smaller scale. Whereas ECT sends the
entire body in one massive convulsion, TMS is scaled back to just below the
level that your index finger will involuntarily twitch. "The most obvious
and dangerous side effect of rTMS is the induction of epileptic seizures,
and experience shows that currently available equipment is powerful enough
to produce them readily." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical
psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 31)
Another way of generating the same amount of electricity as TMS, in
the same small targeted area of the brain the size of a quarter, 2 inches
deep, is to push two insulated electrodes physically into the brain and
flip the wall switch! This is being done with Deep brain stimulation, 6
inches inside the brain! But this would cause physical damage to the brain
with two puncture wounds. Herein lies the advantage of TMS because it does
no apparent physical tissue damage.
The brain is an organ that generates and transmits commands to the
body with 1/10th of a volt of electricity. It has been known for some time,
that if you apply electricity to certain parts of the brain, you can make
the index fingers twitch, or make some muscles contract involuntarily. This
should not surprise us since the brain sends electricity through the spinal
cord to the muscles as a normal function. "Intracellular Charge: All living
cells possess an electrical charge, with the inside of the cell more
negatively charged than the outside (Rosenzweig et al. 2005). The resting
membrane potential in a nerve cell is approximately 50 to 80 millivolts.
[50-80/1000] Nerve cells use this property to communicate with one
another." (Brain Stimulation Therapies For Clinicians, Deep Brain
Stimulation in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, E. Higgins, M.
George, 2009 AD)
The reason TMS is utterly worthless as a treatment for depression,
is because there has never been a case where emotions have been
involuntarily created when zapping a part of the brain with electricity. It
is really that simple. Imagine moving the TMS magnet over the skull and a
person starts being happy, then sad, then... as the magnet moves... becomes
angry... or amorous, or aggressive. This is what pop-psychiatrists imagine
is happening and what they hope in vain to someday discover. It is like
trying to understand Windows software by looking at the physical mother
board of your computer.
Of course Christians understand that man has a spirit that is
distinct from his body. The Christian understands from the Bible story of
Luke 16:19-31, that when we die and our brain becomes dust, that we retain
our memories, will, desires and emotions. Depression is a spiritual
problem, not a physical disease.
"Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a method that relies on
a short-lived magnetic field which is induced by a high current (approx.
5000 Amp) running through a well insulated cable wound into a coil. This
field lasts for about half a millisecond and reaches peak amplitudes of 3
Tesla, which is comparable to the field strength used in MRI scanning.
Neurons react to these extreme magnetic fluctuations (rising from 0 to 3
Tesla and back to 0 within less than a millisecond) by producing signaling
impulses themselves. If the coil, being relatively small and lightweight,
is placed to the head of the subject, the nerve cells just underneath the
focus of the coil send impulses synchronous to the TMS pulse (normally up
to once a second). Since this simultaneous firing of complete neural
populations is without any functional content, information processing in
this part of the brain is disturbed for fractions of a second. This allows
us to induce "virtual lesions", i.e. simulate the failure of the brain
region in question without jeopardizing the subject. By deliberately
integrating TMS in a well elaborated experiment, one can prove the
importance of the brain part in a given cognitive function because
performance deficits can be expected. To optimize targeting during TMS
experiments, previously obtained (functional) MR imaging data can be
utilized for the so called neuro-navigation. A computer compares the brain
scan with the subject's head and thus enables a very precise positioning of
the coil on the head, just over the brain region of interest. Magnetic
field strength: 0,5 - 3,5 Tesla. Maximum repetition rate: 50 Hz bei 30%
max. stimulator output. 30 Hz bei 50%. 18 Hz bei 80%. 15 Hz bei 100%. In
our experiments, we normally use stimulation frequencies of 1Hz, and
sometimes short pulse series of 10Hz. Duration of a single impluse:
400µs." (Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences)
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"An electromagnetic coil is placed against your scalp on an area near your forehead, often on the left side. To produce the stimulating pulses, the electromagnetic coil is switched off and on repeatedly, sometimes up to 10 times a second. This results in a tapping or clicking sound that usually lasts for a few seconds, followed by a pause. You'll also feel a light tapping sensation on your forehead. This part of the process is called "mapping." Your "motor threshold" will be determined. This is the minimum amount of energy needed to make your fingers or hands twitch. The coil is adjusted until the right setting is found." (Mayoclinic, 2010)
A. rTMS is experimental, speculative and unproven!
Nobody knows the cause or cure of any mental illness including
schizophrenia! Causes are always stated in terms like "we think", meaning
that it is 100% theoretical and unproven in real science. The claims for
TMS as a treatment for mental illnesses are always stated in speculative,
hopeful terms. Notice in the statement below the words in blue: This is
clearly a statement of faith unworthy of the real scientific arena where
real live humans are being experimented upon by psychiatrists.
"How it works: It's not clear precisely how transcranial magnetic
stimulation may help relieve symptoms of depression. Networks of brain
regions may play a role in mood regulation. Stimulating the brain in these
regions may change how the brain functions and may lead to mood
improvement. ... When transcranial magnetic stimulation works: If
transcranial magnetic stimulation works for you, your depression symptoms
could improve or go away completely. This improvement, if it occurs, may be
gradual and take a few weeks. Improvement in your mood may last for days or
weeks. Some research, however, shows a lack of dramatic improvement in
depression symptoms. But as researchers learn more about different
techniques, the number of stimulations required and the best sites on the
brain to stimulate, the effectiveness of transcranial magnetic stimulation
may improve over time." (Mayoclinic, 2010)
"Although studies of TMS in depression are now proliferating, the
initial idea that this intervention might be effective in major depression
went against clinical dogma in the field of electroconvulsive therapy
(ECT). The tenet that a seizure is necessary but not sufficient for ECT to
exert antidepressant effects is now widely accepted (Sackeim et al. 1993).
Subconvulsive electrical stimulation has long been known to be ineffective
in depression (Fink et al. 1958), and thus it seemed unlikely that
electrical stimulation induced in the brain via TMS would behave
differently than the direct application of electricity transcranially. On
closer investigation, however, TMS and subconvulsive ECT bear little
resemblance to each other as somatic interventions." (Transcranial magnetic
stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker,
2007 AD, p 121)
"It appears that neither psychiatrists, nor the editors of medical
and scientific publications, nor the media, nor the public feel the need to
reconcile the contradiction of treating the same brain disease with
interventions as different as ECT, VNS, DBS, TMS, antidepressant drugs,
cognitive therapy, various "talk therapies," and dolphin therapy. At this
point, it may be well to recall that the so-called effectiveness of this
kind of therapeutic hocus-pocus had been investigated more than two hundred
years ago by some of the greatest scientific figures of the time who had no
difficulty concluding that the miracle-cure they were
examining-Mesmerism-was simply bogus. Just as importantly, they also
concluded that because healer and healed are equally deceived and
self-deceived, the effectiveness of the hocus-pocus therapy appears real,
at least for a while. Then, after they are debunked, they lose their
effectiveness and are soon replaced by new miracle cures. Mesmer first used
magnets to cure patients. Then his mere touch turned out to be curative.
Finally, he didn't even have to touch patients to cure them-they could
cure themselves and each other by means of rituals that utilized the powers
of an imaginary magnetic fluid, a property of "animal magnetism." Between
1774 and 1777, in a mere three years, Mesmer rose from obscure physician to
world-famous healer, only to be exposed as a quack." (Coercion as Cure,
Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p 148)
TMS cannot help depression because emotion originates with the
spirit, not the body. The brain is the interface between the body and the
spirit. Applying electricity to the brain to affect emotion is like trying
hitting the USB cable that connects your computer to the printer with a
hammer and expecting some improvements in print quality.
B. Studies are small, short in duration, not blind and unreplicated:
"Alvaro Pascual-Leone, working at NIH on TMS with Hallett and
Wassermann at the same time as George, had returned to his native Spain,
and in short order, he recruited a group of psychotically depressed
subjects to a study in which high-frequency left prefrontal rTMS was
compared to sham TMS. The results reported in the Lancet showed that in
seventeen patients with medication-resistant psychotic depression-the
severest kind of depression-there were dramatic responses after a week of
treatment. "Our findings emphasize the role of the left dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex in depression and suggest that rTMS of the left
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex might become a safe, non- convulsive
alternative to electroconvulsive treatment in depression."" ... "But all
was not as it seemed. The first problem was that Pascual-Leone's research,
rushed to publication in the Lancet in 1996, turned out to be mysteriously
unreplicable. No one else has been able to show a comparable response in
psychotic depression, especially on the time-scale of a week. Although
researchers from Germany to Japan and from Brazil to Canada attempted to
reproduce the results of this study, all have achieved negative results.
... The bubble burst, however, when from within the field of rTMS research,
Thomas Schlaepfer and others meta-analyzed the body of published studies as
of 2003 (limiting their analysis to those studies with reasonable protocols
and where results were adequately reported), and concluded that "current
trials are of low quality and provide insufficient evidence to support the
use of rTMS in the treatment of depression."" TMS appeared to have some
effect on mood, but it was not significant enough to replace anything in
the therapeutic armamentarium, and certainly not ECT." (Shock Therapy: A
History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward Shorter,
David Healy, 2007, p 263, 269)
"The body of literature on the use of TMS in depression is rapidly
growing, and many of the findings have been encouraging. ... It is
important to note several limitations in the cited studies. Perhaps most
importantly, none of the key findings have been rigorously replicated. Most
studies included small sample sizes making it harder to detect effects.
Nearly all of the published trials were of a short trial duration compared
with psychopharmacological trials, and to date there has been only a few
published works on continuation or maintenance treatments." (Transcranial
magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H.
Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 142)
"In summary, these studies suggest that schizophrenia is associated
with reduced cortical inhibition in the motor cortex, although findings are
not always replicated clearly across studies. Motor threshold appears to
demonstrate enhanced cortical excitability in schizophrenia, especially on
the left side." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry,
Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 185)
"Open studies with rTMS in depression have been compelling, but the
possibility of placebo response must be kept in mind in interpreting these
results, given that smaller effect sizes have generally been observed in
controlled, blinded trials." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical
psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 133
C. rTMS is Neo-phrenology:
rTMS is it a form of neo-phrenology, that wrongly believes different
parts of the brain can be specifically mapped to single emotions. TMS
applies electricity to these "emotion centers" of the brain in an effort to
modify those emotions. This is pure junk science at its worst, since it was
debunked over 200 years ago. Before this, Lavater's physiognomy, taught the
shape of a persons skull determined their mental abilities. TMS continues
this quacky junk science today and it is shameful.
Click to View
Although magnets and Phrenology were popularized by Samuel Wells in
as late as 1891 AD, chemical psychiatry has no where else to look for the
cause of insanity. Notice that they continue to believe the myth that
emotion is localized in specific brain circuits. Take note of the language
they use:
"localize functions within the human brain"
"activation of selective mood circuits"
"investigate brain mechanisms underlying specific emotions"
"stimulation at different scalp locations derived largely from best-guess
assumptions"
This is pure Phrenology!
Click to View
"But the more lucrative application for DBS is as a treatment for
refractory depression rather than OCD. As of late 2006, a number of groups
are chasing success in this area. Unlike OCD, however, there is no
consensus on what brain circuitry is affected in depression, and without
such accord, many question whether the hazards of this treatment are worth
pursuing for a condition that can often clear up miraculously without
treatment. DBS may well offer benefits, but efforts to develop it, at least
for depression, have the potential to inflict the kind of damage on
psychiatry's current stock of physical therapies that psychosurgery
inflicted in the 1950s, bringing the whole field to a standstill once
more." (Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental
Illness, Edward Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 283)
"TMS as a neuroscience probe fits within a historical current of
attempting to localize functions within the human brain. As a potential
therapy, TMS follows on the heels of ECT, although since its very beginning
there have been important differences between these two techniques. TMS is
emerging at a time of renewed popular interest in magnets and healing."
(Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George,
Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 31)
"Mark George studied medicine at the University of South Carolina
and then secured a place at NIMH. Convinced that most psychological
syndromes would turn out to be brain circuit disorders, George was intent
on training in both neurology and psychiatry. ... But George's early work
on neuro-imaging was just then starting to take focus, pointing to a more
dynamic and important role for traditionally more quiescent areas of the
brain such as the prefrontal cortex. Positron emission tomography (PET)
scans and magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) revealed activity in brain
tissue in a completely new way, suggesting underactive and overactive brain
circuits played a role in conditions from Parkinson's disease to
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)." (Shock Therapy: A History of
Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward Shorter, David Healy,
2007, p 259)
"Besides the stimulation with a large, non- focal, round coil, many
of these studies involved different positioning of TMS applications over
the vertex, choosing multiple sites in the same patient, so speculation
about activation of selective mood circuits is difficult. ... TMS comparing
coil size and stimulation site will be needed to clarify if this form of
stimulation will be clinically useful, even if the application of the
repetitive form of TMS seems nowadays the most promising treatment."
(Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George,
Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 132)
"Other kinds of TMS research might contribute to our understanding
of physiological or regional correlates of factors predisposing to
development of anxiety disorders. ... Another intriguing use of TMS is to
investigate brain mechanisms underlying specific emotions, including those
elicited in a situationally specific manner, which is a common feature of
anxiety disorders. For instance, rTMS research in healthy subjects suggests
that the emotions anger and anxiety are lateralized in the prefrontal
cortex." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S.
George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 174)
"Priorities for research on TMS in the near future: In general, the
main TMS methods of delivery remain unexamined, following protocols in
early studies that found antidepressant efficacy (George et al. 1995,
1997). Thus, it is unclear whether stimulation at different scalp
locations, with different use parameters or dosing strategies or with
different coils (Roth et al. 2002, 2005), will affect clinical outcomes.
The TMS use parameters, derived largely from best-guess assumptions, are
expensive and slow to work out in clinical trials. Thus, a key step for TMS
clinical advancement would be to develop quick- change, laboratory-based
measures that relate to ultimate antidepressant response. TMS has rapidly
progressed from an interesting technique, outside of most paradigms, to an
FDA-approved treatment for depression. It will likely not be restricted to
use in depression for long." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical
psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 262)
"One of the images [PET, MRI] that came into focus was that of the
depressed brain, where it seemed there was reduced activity in the
prefrontal lobes and an underlying pathology in the frontal lobes
themselves or in the basal structures of the brain that interconnected with
the frontal areas. If some treatment could be found that stimulated
activity in these areas, it might turn out to be a cure for depression.
Perhaps this was the mechanism by which ECT had its effect-the current in
bilateral ECT is, after all, directed through the prefrontal lobes." (Shock
Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward
Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 260)
"Guided by brain images that showed hyperactivity in what appeared
to be a discrete brain circuit, they attempted to treat OCD with TMS by
interfering with specific circuits rather than stimulating the brain as a
whole." (Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental
Illness, Edward Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 262)
"In contrast, rTMS, for instance, appeared to be as rational a
treatment as could be wished for. George had linked TMS usage to an effort
to alter blood flow through the prefrontal cortex in a manner that would
reverse psychiatric symptoms ascribed to this area. Increasing the dose
appeared to have a bigger effect on changes in blood flow, opening up the
possibility of establishing TMS as a highly rational and predictable
treatment option." (Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment
in Mental Illness, Edward Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 268)
Junk Pop psychiatrists are always in the market for a new treatment.
They have a long list of failed treatments that have been discontinued.
Psychiatrists are hopeful that rTMS will cure not only depression, but
every form of insanity. But there is a big problem with their idea. While
it is true that zapping the brain in position X will make your finger
twitch or a muscle contract, they have never induced emotion. We are
reminded of "The God helmet" invented in 2002 by Junk Pop psychologist
Michael Persinger, to induce a spiritual experience into the brain with
magnetism applied to the brain. Even atheist Richard Dawkins embarrassed
himself by flying 7000 miles to try it on and experience God for himself!
He felt nothing. ... Wait a few decades, Richard, one day you will have a
genuine spiritual experience!
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D. Blood flow in the brain:
The idea that insanity was caused by "bloated blood vessels" or
abnormal blood flow in the brain has a long quacky history in theoretical
psychiatry.
"What the researchers were able to determine for the first time was
that the neural response to TMS correlated directly to changes in blood
flow to the region. Using oxygen sensors and optical imaging, the
researchers found that an initial increase in blood flow was followed by a
longer period of decreased activity after the magnetic pulses were applied.
... The critical confirmation of the connection between blood flow and
neural activity means that researchers can use TMS to alter neural
activity, and then use fMRI, which tracks blood flow changes, to assess how
the nerve cells respond over time." (Neural Activity Connected To Blood
Flow In New Brain Stimulation Technique, Science Daily, Oct. 11, 2007)
Our "hero of modern psychiatry" Benjamin Rush, taught in 1812 AD
that insanity was caused by bloated blood vessels: "the cause of madness is
seated primarily in the blood-vessels of the brain" (Medical Inquiries and
Observations Upon the Diseases of the Mind, Benjamin Rush 1812 AD)
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Since psychiatry has made no scientific advancement in 200 years,
this old idea has been resurrected as the cause of insanity. It was wrong
in 1812 and it is still wrong today!
Similar changes in blood flow are reported in you finger, when you
stick it in a light socket and get a shock. We would have predicted that
the brain would have an altered blood flow when you shock it with 100 x
higher voltage than it normally runs on. What passes for science today is
"shocking".
E. VBS disrupts normal brain function: "Lesions"
When VBS shocks the vagus nerve, it disrupts normal brain function.
This really is no surprise to any one who took the grade 9 introductory
electricity course. In technical terms, this disruption is called a
"lesion".
There is a lot of talk about TMS inducing "virtual lesions" in the
brain which "simulate the failure of the brain region in question without
jeopardizing the subject".
Lesioning is like when your computer freezes for a moment during a
power surge. All activity in the CPU stops while the power surge occurs.
When the surge is over the CPU picks up where it left off.
Electrical lesioning fixes a fibrillating heart. Arrhythmia is when
the heart beats in an irregular or spasmodic rhythm. Atrial fibrillation
occurs when the heart's electrical system makes the atria to quiver or
"fibrillate". Different parts of the heart beat at different rates which
means blood is no longer being pumped efficiently. The solution is a heart
"Defibrillator" which we have all seen in emergency wards where the nurse
puts two electrode paddles over the heart and on the side of the chest.
"All clear", then zap! The shock makes the body jump off the bed, but the
heart beat is reset back to normal rhythm. The is a prefect example of how
electricity creates a lesion and saves a person's life. Applying
"defibrillator" theory to correcting emotions by shocking the brain, is
completely different matter and doesn't work.
"As with TMS, DBS depends on neuro-imaging technology. In order to
implant the electrodes in the correct location, it is necessary to be able
to map each patient's brain in great detail using both MRI and CT scans,
fusing these with computer programs to get a precise fix on the path of
nerve tracts and blood vessels. A misplaced electrode can cause hemorrhage
and death. The 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate gives a reasonably
accurate image of what the procedure looks like. When the electrodes are in
place, a battery operated device produces a stimulation that can be
increased or decreased in frequency based on feedback from the patient.
This stimulation can theoretically work by either overstimulating nerve
cells, leading to somatic fatigue, or jamming the nerve cells so signals do
not get through, in either case producing a functional lesion." (Shock
Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward
Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 281)
We do not question the factual nature of these virtual lesions...
and why would we. If you have ever watched ECT, where 450 volts is directly
applied through the brain, you can imagine that the "patients ability to
count backwards in increments of 13 is seriously impaired". The smaller
amounts of electricity induced through rTMS would have a proportional
effect.
rTMS makes the junk pop-psychiatry O-meter goes crazy!
Click to View (Left: Junk pop-psychiatry O-meter going crazy)
The application of rTMS to depression is entirely theoretical and
unproven.
F. Hopeful "Cure all" for all mental illness:
Step right up and buy some of Dr. Mark George's cure for: schizophrenia,
depression, anxiety disorders, Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD),
Tourette's syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)!!!
Click to View
"Although TMS will be approved for the treatment of depression, it is probable that clinicians will rapidly begin using it for other disorders. The best evidence to date exists for its use in acute pain syndromes (Borckardt et al., in press), hallucinations in schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders, particularly OCD." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 262)
"Although one would be justified in greeting with amusement, if not
ridicule and derision, some of the speculations in this chapter about the
future uses of rTMS, one need only look at the exponential explosion in
neuroscience knowledge in the latter part of the twentieth century to
envision the possibility of dramatic therapeutic interventions in the near
future." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S.
George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 247)
"The authors' conclusion that low-frequency rTMS of the right
prefrontal cortex failed to produce significant improvement of OCD is of
interest in light of another report that short- term TMS (2 days) at 1 Hz
failed to affect either obsessions, compulsions, or tics in patients with
Tourette's syndrome in a sham-controlled, crossover study (Munchau et al.
2002). The conclusion remains that further studies are indicated to assess
the efficacy and to clarify the optimal stimulation characteristics of rTMS
in OCD." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical psychiatry, Mark S.
George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 172)
"There is some preliminary research on therapeutic effects of TMS in
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ... Recent theories of PTSD
pathogenesis suggest that mechanisms involved in normal threat assessment
become dysregulated so that fear responses associated with the original
traumatic situation become overgeneralized and fail to extinguish (Rauch et
al. 1997). This model makes the commonsense proposal that brain regions
associated with fear conditioning and extinction are important in PTSD. ...
For the purposes of this review, it is most important to note that limbic
and paralimbic activation appears associated with traumatic
memory-related anxiety, and prefrontal input could modulate PTSDrelated
subcortical activity." (Transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical
psychiatry, Mark S. George, Robert H. Belmaker, 2007 AD, p 173)
Conclusion:
The Christian knows that depression and insanity happens in the
spirit, not the physical body. The error of chemical psychiatrists, is
rooted in their atheistic belief in evolution where man is viewed as
nothing more than a pile of chemicals and electrons. They openly mock
Christians who view the nature of man is dichotomous, having a distinct
body and soul.
This error has dead ended psychiatric research into insanity in the
physical brain as the etiological cause of insanity for 300 years. rTMS is
neo-Phrenology and carries forward the error that insanity is rooted in the
physical brain and somehow related to blood flow within the cortex and dura
mater. "It is not important whether this cerebroversion hypothesis is
correct; the point is to highlight modern psychiatry's failure of
imagination. At the start of the twenty-first century, thinking has been
dominated by "bio-babble," a discourse characterized by jargon and an
emphasis on the monoamines, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Within
a few years, this will almost certainly seem as vacuous as Freudian notions
about libido. The problem, in the meantime, is that just as psychoanalysis
once inhibited a generation from making progress in understanding what
mental disorders are, so too psychopharmacology has held back development
in theoretical aspects of psychiatry, at the expense of patients." (Shock
Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward
Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 296)
TMS and rTMS have some important applications to mapping the brain
to physical functions, like which part of the brain controls your index
finger etc. However there is no way to map emotions to specific parts of
the brain. The brain does not contain "mood circuits" that create and
generate emotion. Rather the brain is the physical organ that connects the
body to the spirit in the same way a USB cable connects a computer to the
printer.
TMS is the "new kid on the street" that is has captured researchers
attention to find some treatment for schizophrenia, depression, anxiety
disorders, Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette's syndrome,
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, at present, there is no
evidence TMS has any more effect on curing depression, or any mental
illness, than might be expected as the placebo effect.
"Time will tell whether another chapter in the history of shock
therapy is being written today or not. The history of the past sixty years
has been a history of successive attempts to improve ECT. All have failed,
even if individual lives were helped along the way. The treatment that
Cerletti described in 1938, plus a few modifications involving muscle
relaxation and wave form, is still with us today, and a row of bright ideas
about magnets, nonconvulsive applications of electricity, and the like have
not succeeded in making patient care better or safer. It remains to be seen
if the current therapies will provide more convincing alternatives." (Shock
Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness, Edward
Shorter, David Healy, 2007, p 289)
TMS is pure junk science at its worst and it is a harmful treatment
because if applies voltages 100 times higher than what the brain normally
uses. Think of the damage that would be done to using house current to jump
start your car.... that is only 10 times the voltage. Shocking to brain to
change emotions is stupid junk science, but biologic psychiatrists have no
other place to look for the cause of insanity. Christians have God's word
to give us the answers we seek, that emotion, thought, mood and memory
happen in the spirit, not the body. (see Luke 16:19-31)
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
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