Feedback brain stimulation to enhance sleep spindles, modulate memory and cognitive function, and treat psychiatric and neurological symptoms
AssigneeThe Universiiy of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
InventorFlavio Frohlich
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Abstract
The present invention relates to methods for modulating bursts of oscillatory brain activity, such as sleep spindles, in a subject. The invention further relates to methods of improving memory or cognitive function in a subject and method of modulating or enhancing the frequency of occurrence, structure, amplitude, and/or synchronization of sleep spindles in a subject by detecting a burst of oscillatory brain activity in the subject and passing an oscillating current through the skull of the subject.
Claims27
A method of improving memory or cognitive function in a subject, the method comprising:
- a) detecting a burst of oscillatory brain activity in the subject, wherein the detecting comprises identifying one or more sleep spindles;
- and
- b) passing an oscillating current through a skull of the subject in response to the detected burst of oscillatory brain activity, thereby improving memory or cognitive function in the subject relative to memory or cognitive function in an absence of the method, wherein the oscillating current is transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at a frequency of 11-16 Hz that is frequency matched to the one or more sleep spindles in the detected burst of oscillatory brain activity.
A method of modulating or enhancing a frequency of occurrence, structure, amplitude, and/or synchronization of sleep spindles in a subject, the method comprising:
- a) detecting sleep spindles in the subject;
- and
- b) passing an oscillating current through a skull of the subject responsive to the detected sleep spindles, thereby modulating or enhancing the frequency of occurrence, structure, amplitude, and/or synchronization of additional sleep spindles in the subject relative to the frequency of occurrence, structure, amplitude, and/or synchronization of additional sleep spindles in an absence of the method, wherein the oscillating current is transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at a frequency of 11-16 Hz to the detected sleep spindles.
A method of treating a subject with a psychiatric or neurological symptom associated with impairment of sleep spindle oscillation and/or impairment of cognitive function, the method comprising:
- detecting sleep spindles in the subject;
- and
- passing an oscillating current through a skull of the subject responsive to the detected sleep spindles, thereby treating the psychiatric or neurological symptom associated with sleep spindles in the subject, wherein the oscillating current is transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at a frequency of 11-16 Hz to the detected sleep spindles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.