Happy New Year!

As a celebration of the beginning of 2026, we have done a year-in-review of TMS in 2025: updates, new technology, protocols, and research. We pored through a myriad of clinical studies, research articles, and more so that you don’t have to (although if you are interested in the ins and outs of these studies and findings, I would highly recommend all the journals cited), so here is a highlight reel of transcranial magnetic stimulation in 2025!

There was significant research conducted into TMS for strokes in 2025 with some promising studies being published. One study by Yamamoto et al showed that  repetitive TMS (rTMS), when combined with rehabilitation in post-stroke motor recovery, showed significantly more improvement than in patients who were given rehabilitation alone. This study also utilized repetitive peripheral TMS (rPMS) - in which repetitive TMS is applied directly to the affected side of the body to produce a muscle twitch, which has been explored  in post-stroke recovery for a few years now, and has been shown to help with muscle spasticity as well as motor function. 

Another study published in 2025 by Zhang et al explored the impacts of both deep TMS (dTMS) and rTMS in post-stroke gait and balance recovery, with one group receiving dTMS and the other receiving rTMS (in addition to traditional methods of rehabilitation). Both groups showed significant improvement in gait and balance, with the dTMS group showing superior efficacy in several of the measured scales for patients. The main difference between rTMS and dTMS is the shape of the coil, with the dTMS coil allowing the magnetic pulses to penetrate deeper, allowing for excitation of deeper structures, but dTMS remains under-researched, with more studies needed to confirm the hypothesis of this study that dTMS may be more effective than rTMS for post-stroke recovery.

Based on these studies (as well as studies from years past) rTMS, pTMS, and dTMS are emerging as promising, non-invasive treatments that have measurable benefit to post-stroke motor recovery as well as gait and balance. We hope to see further research to solidify best-practice protocols and provide the best possible outcomes for these patients in 2026!

Another very interesting case review was published in 2025, looking at “single day TMS” - wherein a group of five patients were given 20 sessions of varying TMS protocols in addition to utilizing pharmacological augmenting agents during the treatment day - lisdexamfetamine and D-cycloserine (DCS). It pulled its methods of accelerated treatment, protocols, and augmenting agents from various recent studies (it’s all really quite fascinating if you’d like to review), but to avoid getting too into the weeds with science jargon, the most incredible thing is that all five of the patients had significantly decreased scores on depression symptom screeners weeks after treatment (we’re talking scores of 20 dropping to 1), which sustained for 3-6 months following the single-day accelerated treatment protocol. Further research of utilization of augmenting agents as well as accelerated treatment protocols is definitely warranted to truly determine best practice and effectiveness, but this case study is an exciting example of accelerated TMS possibly being a promising modality for folks who may not be able to commit to a full 30-day+ protocol. 

To wrap up, a 2025 consensus review endorsed by the National Network of Depression Centers, the Clinical TMS Society, and the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology updates the prior consensus put out in 2018. It utilizes articles, studies, and journals put out between 2016 and 2024 to put together a comprehensive review of the safety, efficacy, and clinical features for use in TMS treatment of depression. Highlights include: the FDA approval of TMS for adolescents 15 years old and above, TMS appearing to be safe and efficacious in geriatric and peripartum populations when medications may not be safe/appropriate, and maintenance TMS showing promise for continued relief of depression symptoms. Another interesting clinical subject discussed in this consensus is the emergence of magnetic seizure therapy (MST) where TMS is utilized to induce a seizure to treat depression. The early data appear to be promising, and it appears to produce fewer cognitive side effects than electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - we will be keeping our eye out to learn more about this treatment modality. 

2025 has been an exciting year for TMS and for our clinic - we will continue to strive to provide the best possible outcomes for our clients, keep up-to-date on research, and continue to grow our knowledge and our practice.