Future

Single-pulse TMS is easy to employ because it is noninvasive, painless and safe. Its use will probably expand as more applications surface. Also, it may supplement many of the tools that are used today to examine human physiology. Additionally, TMS in conjunction with PETor fMRI studies will help identify regions of the brain that functionally connect to the stimulated sites. This will eventually permit the evaluation of in vivo anatomical connectivity, which will provide insight in the areas of higher cortical function and assessment of drug effects. Although high frequency rTMS may have adverse effects, it has the potential to be very useful when used safely. A plethora of possibilities are present in terms of using rTMS therapeutically. Unfortunately, research in the field of rTMS is burdened by the diffculty of studying an incompletely understood procedure with several dosing parameters without the benefit of guiding preclinical data and without clear hypotheses about the mechanisms of action. These obstacles in addition to a general lack in commercial backing have made research in this area relatively slow and lacking in standardization, but clinicians and the public remain optimistic that this area can provide noninvasive, drug-free treatments for neurological disorders in the future.