Dr. Mark Pernarowski (Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, MSU) 

02/24/2022  3:10pm

Abstract:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, refers to a noninvasive medical procedure used to treat mental illness. At present, TMS is used mostly to address treatment resistant depression. A magnetic coil is placed over a specific region of the cortex. When current is applied the coil generates a magnetic field inside the cortex which in turn causes currents in the brain to stimulate neurons. With repeated procedures, neural plasticity is thought to increase cortical activity where it was once low or depressed. In this talk, we will cover several aspects of the process which can be modelled mathematically. Various forms of Maxwell’s equations are used to compute the electric field magnitude as a means to help design coils that focus the induced currents in the correct cortex locations. Also, Hodgkin-Huxley models of cortical neurons show that the TMS induced currents are likely to cause 1:1 to 1:n resonant firing patterns within inhibitory cells. The talk will end with a short discussion of future modeling projects related to TMS.