Abstract
Psychiatric disorders are a frequent reason for consultation, accounting for 15% of general medical visits. Some patients have severe disorders, meaning they have a significant impact on their daily functioning. Others have treatment-resistant disorders, defined as an insufficient response to at least two antidepressant treatments prescribed at an adequate dosage for a sufficient length of time. Some symptoms are inacessible to pharmacological treatment. Because of their systemic action, pharmacological therapies may expose patients to adverse metabolic or neurological effects. Brain stimulation is a new therapeutic approach that helps mitigate systemic adverse effects through its focal action. Various brain stimulation techniques are used in routine clinical practice in France (electroconvulsive therapy) or within the research field (rTMS: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, TDCS: transcranial direct-current stimulation, DBS: deep brain stimulation, and VNS: vagus nerve
