In one of the major breakthroughs achieved in Medical sciences, the Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is now being used to bring a patient back from a state of coma. This technique is akin to the approach of treating migraine, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and depression.

Brain cells of right prefrontal dorsolateral cortex are stimulated via the rapid changing magnetic fields through the electromagnetic coil that is held over the one’s head. The right prefrontal dorsolateral cortex which bears strong connection with the brainstem sends signals to the rest of the brain areas telling them to pay attention.

In a case where patient named Josh Villa suffered enormous head injuries and fell into a state of coma was made to go through this technique in a six week study. A drastic change after fifteen of its sessions was seen as he was reportedly turning his head towards the person calling him unlikely of his earlier state. Villa’s mother Laurie McAndrews who saw a ray of hope due to this said, he started obeying one-step commands, such as following the movement of a thumb and speaking single words.

However the TMS was halted after 30 planned sessions were over as the patient’s condition was seen as improving. Though Villa was given 10 sessions more later on, there were no further development and was ultimately sent home. However, he has not been fully recovered but the treatment has helped him quite a lot in interacting with the visitors as well have eased out a lot on caretaker’s part. His mother confirmed that Villa was showing signs of improvement and was on his way to recovery as he nodded often when asked a question.

However, some experts believe that Villa's case alone does not show that TMS is a useful treatment while others such as Steven Laureys of the Coma Research Group at the University of Liege in Belgium asserts that "This is the first and very interesting use of repetitive TMS in coma."