<p><strong>Short answer</strong><br>
A cap of magnets, or state-of-the-art TMS protocols, will not make you smarter. </p>

<p><strong>Background</strong><br>
First off, TMS uses bursts of magnetic stimulation in the order of milliseconds <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20444645" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Rothkegel <em>et al</em>., 2010)</a>. <a href="https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/65335/how-do-moving-charges-produce-magnetic-fields">Pulses of magnetic stimulation</a> are used, because <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">permanent magnetic fields</a> will not induce current flow. Hence, wearing a cap of permanent magnets will not do the job.</p>

<p>TMS can be used using single pulses to evoke motoric muscle twitches when applied to the motor cortex, or to evoke phosphenes when applied over the visual cortex <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245703002050" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Thut <em>et al</em>., 2003)</a>. In the clinic, typically <a href="http://depressionet.org.au/treatments/rtms/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">repetitive TMS (rTMS)</a> is used, where the subject is exposed to trains of TMS pulses <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159591/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Horvath <em>et al</em>., 2010)</a>. rTMS is nowadays approved to treat depression. A popular description says it 'activates neurons' in the prefrontal cortex (<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-30/rtms-gaining-traction-as-treatment-for-depression/5922082" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ABC News</a>), but a more realistic view is to say that nobody knows why it works, and whether it works (<a href="http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies.shtml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">National Institute of Health</a>). It's also been investigated to treat psychoses or to decrease ear ringing (tinnitus). </p>

<p>Hence, TMS is generally applied to disrupt ongoing neural activity, i.e. to remove something. Indeed, TMS is typically associated with a disruption of function. For example, visual task performance is decreased when folks are subjected to TMS pulses <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245703002050" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Thut <em>et al</em>., 2003)</a>. Hence TMS is not applied to add or enhance brain functions, let alone higher cognitive functions that govern intelligence.</p>

<p><sup><strong>References</strong><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159591/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Horvath <em>et al</em>., <em>J Vis Exp</em> (2010); <strong>45</strong>: 2345</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20444645" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rothkegel <em>et al</em>., <em>Clin Neurophysiol</em> (2010); <strong>121</strong>(11):1915-21</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245703002050" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thut <em>et al</em>., <em>Clin Neurophysiol</em> (2003); <strong>114</strong>(11): 2071–80</a></sup></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-12T11:27:18.733Z
2015-08-12T12:02:32.983Z
2017-04-13T12:40:17.460Z
AliceD
<p>According to wikipedia, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation" rel="nofollow">TMS</a> is a bunch of magnetic fields directed to the brain which stimulates and activates neurons.</p>

<ul>
<li>If I wear a cap full of magnets, will it stimulate my neurons? </li>
<li>If yes, will a cap of magnets make me "smarter"?</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-06T01:26:53.373Z
YMMV. Some papers claim some improvements in narrow areas: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/5632/can-learning-be-facilitated-by-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation or https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/19896/has-induced-savantism-been-further-explored-beyond-snyder-2009 TMS is not the same thing as wearing a bunch of magnets though.
got trolled too much this week
<cognitive-neuroscience><neurophysiology><brain-training><cognitive-enhancement><tms>
Can Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), or a magnets cap make you smarter?
Enoque Duarte
# Can Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), or a magnets cap make you smarter?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-06)

According to wikipedia, [TMS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation) is a bunch of magnetic fields directed to the brain which stimulates and activates neurons.

* If I wear a cap full of magnets, will it stimulate my neurons?
* If yes, will a cap of magnets make me "smarter"?

**Tags:** cognitive-neuroscience, neurophysiology, brain-training, cognitive-enhancement, tms

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: YMMV. Some papers claim some improvements in narrow areas: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/5632/can-learning-be-facilitated-by-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation or https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/19896/has-induced-savantism-been-further-explored-beyond-snyder-2009 TMS is not the same thing as wearing a bunch of magnets though.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-08-12. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

**Short answer**  
A cap of magnets, or state-of-the-art TMS protocols, will not make you smarter.

**Background**  
First off, TMS uses bursts of magnetic stimulation in the order of milliseconds [(Rothkegel *et al*., 2010)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20444645). [Pulses of magnetic stimulation](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/65335/how-do-moving-charges-produce-magnetic-fields) are used, because [permanent magnetic fields](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet) will not induce current flow. Hence, wearing a cap of permanent magnets will not do the job.

TMS can be used using single pulses to evoke motoric muscle twitches when applied to the motor cortex, or to evoke phosphenes when applied over the visual cortex [(Thut *et al*., 2003)](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245703002050). In the clinic, typically [repetitive TMS (rTMS)](http://depressionet.org.au/treatments/rtms/) is used, where the subject is exposed to trains of TMS pulses [(Horvath *et al*., 2010)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159591/). rTMS is nowadays approved to treat depression. A popular description says it 'activates neurons' in the prefrontal cortex ([ABC News](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-30/rtms-gaining-traction-as-treatment-for-depression/5922082)), but a more realistic view is to say that nobody knows why it works, and whether it works ([National Institute of Health](http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies.shtml)). It's also been investigated to treat psychoses or to decrease ear ringing (tinnitus).

Hence, TMS is generally applied to disrupt ongoing neural activity, i.e. to remove something. Indeed, TMS is typically associated with a disruption of function. For example, visual task performance is decreased when folks are subjected to TMS pulses [(Thut *et al*., 2003)](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245703002050). Hence TMS is not applied to add or enhance brain functions, let alone higher cognitive functions that govern intelligence.

**References**  
**-** [Horvath *et al*., *J Vis Exp* (2010); **45**: 2345](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159591/)  
**-** [Rothkegel *et al*., *Clin Neurophysiol* (2010); **121**(11):1915-21](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20444645)  
**-** [Thut *et al*., *Clin Neurophysiol* (2003); **114**(11): 2071–80](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245703002050)


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