Plain-English definitions of the terms used across this clinic: the treatment itself, the brain regions it targets, the measurements we take, and the words you will hear in a consultation. Written so you know what each one means before you speak to anyone.
Also known as: TMS, Magnetic stimulation therapy, Transcranial magnetic stimulation.
A non-invasive treatment that uses brief magnetic pulses, delivered through a coil held against the scalp, to change the activity of a targeted area of the brain. You stay awake throughout, no anaesthetic is used, and there is no recovery time. Most people describe a light tapping sensation at the scalp.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The broad name for treatments that change how nerve cells signal to one another, rather than changing body chemistry the way a drug does. Magnetic stimulation is one form. The aim is to shift a circuit that has settled into an unhelpful pattern back towards a more typical one.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Also known as: Brain plasticity, Neural plasticity.
The brain's capacity to reorganise itself by forming and strengthening connections between nerve cells. It is why repetition matters in any kind of rehabilitation, and why a course of treatment is delivered over weeks rather than in one visit.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
An area towards the front and side of the brain involved in attention, planning, working memory and mood regulation. It is the most common target for magnetic stimulation in depression and anxiety because it connects to the deeper networks that regulate mood.
The lowest pulse strength that produces a small visible twitch in your hand when the coil sits over the area of the brain controlling movement. It is measured for each individual at the start of a course, and every later dose is set as a percentage of it, so the strength used is calibrated to you rather than fixed.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The part of the machine held against the scalp. Current passing through it generates a magnetic field that passes painlessly through skin and skull and induces a small electrical current in the brain tissue directly beneath. Its shape determines how focused the field is.
Also known as: Heart-brain coupling, Neurocardiac-guided rTMS.
A method of choosing where to place the coil by measuring the heart response to test pulses at several candidate sites, then treating the site that produces the clearest slowing of heart rate. A brief slowing indicates that the network linking the front of the brain to the vagus nerve has engaged.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Also known as: HRV.
The variation in time between consecutive heartbeats. Higher variability generally indicates a nervous system that can shift between alert and settled states. It is measured continuously by a wearable during a programme here, as one of the signals used to track change.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, running from the brainstem to the chest and abdomen. It carries the signals that slow the heart and settle the body after stress, which is why heart rate is used as a readable proxy for whether a brain circuit has engaged.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Also known as: NayaScore assessment.
Naya's own assessment, taken before treatment starts and repeated during a programme, combining grip strength, continuous heart rate variability from a wearable ring, and computer-based cognitive tests across twelve domains. It is a measurement tool for tracking change over time, not a diagnostic test, and results are interpreted alongside clinical judgement.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A specific mental ability measured separately from the others, such as attention, planning, response inhibition or mental rotation. Testing across several domains matters because two people with the same complaint of brain fog can have quite different underlying profiles.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Where a score sits relative to a comparison group of the same age and sex. A score at the 70th percentile is higher than 70 people in a representative hundred. Percentiles are used here because a raw score means little without knowing what is typical.
Also known as: TRD.
Depression that has not improved sufficiently after adequate trials of at least two different antidepressants. It is the indication for which magnetic stimulation has the largest published evidence base and for which NICE has issued interventional procedures guidance.
Source: www.nice.org.uk
Two different measures of improvement. Response usually means symptoms have at least halved on a validated questionnaire. Remission means symptoms have fallen below the threshold for the condition altogether. Any figure quoted for a treatment should say which of the two it refers to.
A course that delivers several sessions a day over a small number of days, rather than one session a day over several weeks. The total number of sessions is similar; the calendar is compressed. Suitability depends on the condition being treated and on your own circumstances.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Also known as: TBS, iTBS.
A pattern of magnetic pulses delivered in short high-frequency bursts, which allows a session to be much shorter than conventional stimulation while delivering a comparable dose. It is the pattern used in most accelerated courses.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Also known as: Peripheral magnetic stimulation.
The same magnetic technology applied to a nerve or muscle in the body rather than to the head, used for pain and for muscle activation. It is delivered in the same room and often alongside brain stimulation where both are appropriate.
A state in which the nervous system stays in a heightened state of reactivity, so pain signals are amplified and ordinary sensations can register as painful. It helps explain why pain can persist after any original injury has healed, and why treating the nervous system rather than the tissue can help.
Also known as: Chronic fatigue syndrome, Myalgic encephalomyelitis.
A long-term condition whose central feature is disabling fatigue made worse by activity, alongside unrefreshing sleep, pain and difficulty thinking. NICE guideline NG206 sets out how it should be diagnosed and managed in the UK.
Source: www.nice.org.uk
A study in which one group receives the real treatment and another receives an inactive imitation that feels the same, so any difference between them cannot be explained by expectation alone. It is the standard that separates a genuine treatment effect from a placebo effect.