穿顱磁刺激於2008年底通過美國認可，獲准使用在用藥無效的重鬱症患者，成為最新的憂鬱症治療方法之一。然而，國內臨床專業人員對此療法雖然有興趣，卻缺乏全面瞭解的管道。本文目的即在介紹穿顱磁刺激治療方案的原理與臨床實施方法，希望增進相關專業人員對其認識。本文首先介紹穿顱磁刺激治療方案的優勢，以及發展此技術的必要性。第一部份回顧憂鬱症之種類、多種致病成因，以及前額葉異常活動假說、現行的治療方法；第二部份介紹穿顱磁刺激之原理，以及臨床治療潛力；第三部份呈現以穿顱磁刺激治療憂鬱症的臨床實施方法，包含受試者篩檢標準、完整的磁波參數、如何精準地控制磁波以透過顱骨直接刺激前額葉，與如何評估憂鬱症狀之緩解；第四部份則探討磁刺激的安全性、研究至今所累積的抗鬱成效、方案檢討、與磁刺激後的大腦活動追蹤；最後，本文提出應加入具敏感度的認知功能追蹤評估，以偵測與認知功能高相關的前額葉功能變化，並呈現穿顱磁刺激的最新進展。

TMS therapy has been cleared by the United States as a noninvasive depression treatment. It is meant for adult patients who do not achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication. However, people who are interested in learning how TMS works rarely have an opportunity to see the whole picture. The present article aims to enhance their understanding on TMS treatment by reviewing current knowledge concerning TMS from theoretical bases to clinical interventions. This article provides an overview of the benefits of TMS and the importance of developing the technique for treatment against depression. In the first part, the study reviews the five subtypes and various causes of depression, metabolic abnormalities within the frontal lobe, and contemporary possible professional interventions. The second part of the article introduces the bases of TMS and its therapeutic potential for psychiatric disorders. Next, there is a clinical demonstration presenting the criteria and selection of participants, the settings of TMS parameters, the precise control of TMS interference to the prefrontal cortex, and the assessment of depressive symptoms. The fourth section discusses safety restrictions of TMS, its antidepressant efficacy accumulated to the present, and the follow-up studies of brain activations after treatment. Additionally, the article suggests a pre- and post-treatment cognitive assessment to be added to monitor subsequent changes of cognitive functioning closely related to the prefrontal cortex. Lastly, the article presents the most up-to-date developments of TMS.