Eyes Predict Depression Relief Using Magnetic Brain Therapy

Patients suffering from depression who evidenced greater eye pupillary constriction after exposure to light enjoyed better relief of their depressive symptoms following treatment with transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS. UCLA neuroscientists report this finding following their study of 51 patients with major depressive disorders who were undergoing daily TMS.

Their data reveal a direct correlation between the strength of the so-called pupillary light reflex and the percentage of relief from depressive symptoms after magnetic brain stimulation.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive technique during which focused magnetic fields bathe portions of the brain. Looking to predict which patients will benefit most from this therapy, clinicians have studied various signals from the human involuntary nervous system including the variability of heart rate and the pupillary light reflex. These nervous system fluctuations occur involuntarily as responses to stress, fear, and danger. The pupillary light reflex is easily triggered, occurs rapidly, and is easily measured making it an ideal predictive test.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032723008376?via=ihub

#transcranialmagneticstimulation #TYMPANIC MEMBRANES #depression #pupillarylightreflex