Trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) or external Trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) is a non-invasive, non-medication therapy for

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

approved in the United States by the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

for the treatment of ADHD in children ages 7–12. It is also used

off-label Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication (medicine), indication or in an unapproved age group, dose (biochemistry), dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) ca ...

to treat ADHD in adults. External trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) is similar to

transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS or TNS) is a device that produces mild electric current to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes. TENS, by definition, covers the complete range of transcutaneously applied currents u ...

(TENS), a treatment for chronic

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...

. A small device supplies electricity to electrodes that are placed on the skin. The device is able to modulate the intensity and frequency of electrical impulses delivered to the nerve endings in the skin. There is ongoing investigation and research into the use of trigeminal nerve stimulation to treat other

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior. Initial psychiatric assessment of ...

disorders, such as depression and

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

References

Physical psychiatric treatments Electrotherapy Neurophysiology Neuropsychology Neurotechnology Treatment of depression Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder management Medical devices Bioelectromagnetics {{treatment-stub