Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment with Deep TMS
A “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” may develop after people have gone through unexpected experiences that threaten the lives and physical integrity of themselves or their relatives (war, explosion, natural disasters, rape, torture, accidents, etc.). In the upcoming times, conditions like startling, having nightmares, sleep deprivation, frequently remembering the details of the incident, feeling apprehensive with fear that the incident will reoccur, and alienation may be observed in the person due to the horror and despair emerging after these experiences. These symptoms may disappear after a while, but the recovery is more difficult in the patients pretending that the incident never happened or trying to forget it. It has been observed that the recovery is faster in the patients who speak of the incident, ask questions about it and share their feelings.
According to the neurobiological explanation, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder stems from the stress-related impairment of the fear circuits located in the middle prefrontal cortex. Therefore, amygdala is pressured, and the person shows much more fear reactions than necessary.
It was observed that there was an inverse relation between the high activation in the middle prefrontal cortex and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms. Thus, it is considered that the symptoms decrease when there is an increase in the activation of the middle prefrontal cortex.
Deep TMS aims to increase the activation in the middle prefrontal cortex through high-frequency magnetic stimulation.
It was reported that the main symptoms were still on the decline even 3 months after the completion of the treatment with Deep TMS implemented on the front part and both sides of the brain. It was observed that there was a decrease in the depressive symptoms, in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder.
It was determined that advancements were obtained in the recovery by reminding the patient of the details of the trauma, speaking of the factors causing stress and through the implementation of other exposure methods during the administration of Deep TMS.
A strong relation was reported in the heart rate that increased during the reminiscence of the trauma, and the positive scale assessments obtained following the treatment. Accordingly, the more stress the patient experiences during the Deep TMS application, the higher the chance of recovery will be.
