Temporally patterned closed-loop stimulation for therapy of brain disorders

在帕金森氏症和震颤中，大脑几个不同部位的电活动变得异常有节奏。这种节律性活动的增加会阻止大脑以正常方式控制运动。这些疾病可以通过在大脑节律异常的部分放置电极并施加连续的电脉冲来治疗。这种治疗增加了正常活动量，但也会因扰乱大脑的健康活动而产生副作用。我们的目标是改进这种大脑起搏器治疗方法。我们将记录有节奏的大脑活动，并利用其特征来决定何时以及如何刺激，从而进一步增加正常运动并减少副作用。首先，我们将使用节奏活动的强度来决定何时打开和关闭刺激。其次，我们可以在节奏的特定部分设置电脉冲，以尽可能有效地改善动作。这类似于在秋千上推别人；在某一点上推它们会让它们跑得更快，但在另一点上推它们会让它们慢下来。我们将在动物模型上进行实验，找到最有效、最安全的技术，然后在患者身上进行测试。

In Parkinson’s disease and tremor, the electrical activity in several different parts of the brain becomes abnormally rhythmic. This increase in rhythmic activity stops the brain controlling movement in a normal way. These diseases can be treated by placing electrodes in the parts of the brain that are abnormally rhythmic and applying continuous electrical pulses. This treatment increases the amount of normal movement, but it can also cause side effects by disrupting the brains healthy activity. Our aim is to improve such brain pacemaker treatments.We will record the rhythmic brain activity and use its features to decide when and how to stimulate in a way that will further increase normal movements and decrease side effects. Firstly, we will use the strength of rhythmic activity to decide when to turn the stimulation on and off. Secondly, we can time a pulse of electricity on a specific part of the rhythm to improve movements as efficiently as possible. This is similar to pushing someone on a swing; pushing them at one point will make them go faster, but at another will make them slow down. We will use experiments in animal models to find the most effective and safest techniques and then test these in patients.