Methods of increasing learning rate

• US 20070225774A1
• Filed: 10/10/2006
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Inventors: Williams, Ziv, Eskandar, Emad
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,192 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/45
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36025 for treating a mental or cerebral condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36082 Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/004 specially adapted for a specific therapy

Abstract

The invention relates, in part, to methods of administering electrical or magnetic brain stimulation to increase learning rate.

Claims

1. A method for increasing the rate of learning in a subject, comprising,

electrically or magnetically stimulating a brain region of the subject during an interval of learning in the subject.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the learning comprises formation of a visual-motor association.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the interval of learning comprises a reinforcement interval.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reinforcement interval comprises a feedback period of learning.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the brain region is the striatum.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the brain region is the caudate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the brain region is the anterior caudate.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulation of the brain region comprises deep brain stimulation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the deep brain stimulation comprises high frequency microstimulation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the high frequency microstimulation is at a pulse frequency of about 200 Hz.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the high frequency microstimulation is at a phase length of about 0.2 ms.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the high frequency microstimulation is at an interphase interval of about 0.2 ms.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the high frequency microstimulation is at an amperage of about 200 μ

A.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the high frequency microstimulation comprises a stimulus train of about 1000 ms.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulation of the brain region comprises transcranial magnetic stimulation.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulation of the brain region comprises epidural electrical stimulation.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject has, has had, or is suspected of having a neurological disease or disorder.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the neurological disease or disorder is associated with a deficit in learning.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the neurological disease or disorder is a associated with a deficit in the formation of visual-motor associations.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the neurological disease or disorder is an associative learning disorder, a brain injury, a neurodegenerative disorder, stroke, epilepsy, autism, or Parkinson'"'"'s disease.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject is a primate.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject is a human.