"This article is featured in Newsweeks Special Edition Natures RemediesHeal Your Body. httpbit.lymbGfp One of the leading causes of disability in the United States isnt physicalits mental. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America ADAA  million adultsapproximately . percent of the populationsuffer from major depressive disorder which is most often treated through a combination of talk therapy and medication. Those who struggle with depression have imbalanced levels of serotonin which maintains mood and dopamine which controls the pleasure and reward zones. The brains synapses control how much of these chemicals are released and drugs like Zoloft effectively prevent the little serotonin being produced from reabsorbing back into the nerve cells from which they were released resulting in a higher concentration of serotonin. Some pillaverse patients have longed for a natural cure for depression while others complain that the drugs theyre on arent enough. Hope for both groups may have arrived through an unlikely source magnets. Researchers discovered they can harness the power of magnetism to increase serotonin production and combat depression through a process called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation TMS.  Each symptom of depression maps onto a given circuit of the brain neurologist Alvaro PascualLeone told NPR in April  about treating patients using TMS. The reason why that circuit of the brain is not functioning properly...has to do with a deficit of a certain chemical in the brain. But the point is that if we can identify the circuit that causes the symptoms we can target that circuit and make it function better through brain stimulation. So in a sense TMS is not a treatment...for the ultimate cause of the disorder but its an intervention that improves how the patient is able to function. TMS has a lot in common with a traditional MRI scan. In fact the only clue TMS treatment contains magnets at all is that patients must remove any jewelry and stow their credit cards to prevent demagnetization before treatment. According to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicines description of the technique a coil is fitted to the front of a patients head so the electromagnetic pulses can target the prefrontal cortex of the brain which controls emotion. A physician then tests the machine to see how much power is needed to affect the patients reflexes. Once the patients thumb involuntarily twitches the current is strong enough to affect the patients brain activity. At this point specific symptoms can be targeted depending on the patients needs. The biggest drawback to TMS according to advocates is the limitations on just who can undergo the treatment. Though it was approved by the FDA in  its use is federally restricted with exemptions only for those with severe depression autism or Parkinsons. Even those who are approved to undergo the treatment face another barrier as TMS is not widely covered by health insurance. Its efficacy varies from patient to patient and like most prescriptions for depression TMS has its own set of sideeffects. The most common not surprisingly are headaches. Although onethird of patients have reported experiencing painful scalp sensations and facial twitching these tend to fade after several treatments. Despite these setbacks researchers are optimistic about TMSand not just as a form of treatment for depression. Experiments treating Parkinsons and autism the other two conditions for which TMS is approved have seen some success among neurologists. More studies will be needed to determine whether this method can be used as a widespread treatment for other brainrelated disorders but if todays research is any indication TMS could be a key to improving the lives of Americans suffering from a multitude of disorders. This article was excerpted from Newsweeks Special Edition Natures RemediesHeal Your Body. httpbit.lymbGfp For more on the definitive guide to alternative methods of healing the mind body and soul pick up a copy today.  httpbit.lymbGfp"