At King’s College London researchers have been testing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a technique already used for treading depression, neuropathic chronic pain, and other conditions, as a therapy option for people suffering from anorexia. They report promising results in a study in the journal PLOS ONE.
The team stimulated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region within the brain considered to be at least partially responsible for self-control. Delivering magnetic field pulses at this region can disturb its abnormal natural activity. This was done repeatedly on a group of volunteers with symptoms of anorexia, while a sham treatment was performed on a control group. The researchers looked at the decision making of the volunteers before and after treatment, showing that the ones receiving therapy were making smarter choices.
Here’s a video report from King’s College London about the use of the stimulation technology:
Study in PLOS ONE: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Neuronavigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in Anorexia Nervosa…
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