- Mental health is determined by social, environmental, biological and psychological factors.
- Currently, it is estimated that one in three Mexican workers suffer from depression.
- 78% of workers affirm that stress has a negative impact on their work performance.
The increase in mental health disorders in the population has led to an increase in treatments and therapies to treat these conditions. Among the therapeutic alternatives is the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, first used in 1985 by University of Sheffield physicist Anthony Barker. The objective was to assess in a non-invasive and painless way the integrity of the central motor pathways through stimulation of the cerebral cortex.
For its part, it is worth talking about the current problem of depression. It is a pathology that is on the rise and has a direct relationship with mental health. According to Barometer of the mental health of workers in Mexicoone in three elements suffers from this disorder.
Now, according to the Dr. Carmen Amezcua the transcranial magnetic stimulation It is a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain in order to improve symptoms of depression and other pathologies.
“This type of treatment, which I use in my patients, produces immediate effects on the ability of neurons to change their electrical potential and transmit this change through their axon (neuronal excitability) and, in the long term, to modify neuronal connections. ”.
How does it work?
The doctor comments that during a session of transcranial magnetic stimulation An electromagnetic coil is placed on the scalp, near the forehead. The electromagnet painlessly emits magnetic pulses that stimulate nerve cells in the region of the brain that controls mood and depression.
“It is believed that it activates regions of the brain that have decreased activity in people with depression. There are different ways to perform the procedure and techniques may change as experts learn more about the most effective ways to carry out treatments.”
What are its benefits?
The expert mentions that the transcranial magnetic stimulation It is often used when other treatments for depression have not been effective. With this in mind, it is possible that repeated treatment can improve or disappear the symptoms of depression completely. Symptom relief may come after a few weeks of treatment.
“It has also been used for the treatment of other pathologies, migraine or trigeminal neuralgia, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, as well as motor rehabilitation after a stroke or diseases such as Parkinson’s, essential tremor or dystonia.”
In addition, he said that studies have proven that the transcranial magnetic stimulation improves higher cognitive functions such as working memory, attention, learning, language, coordination, increases learning ability, reasoning, decision-making, and improves cognitive abilities in age-related decline.
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