This is already being used to treat depression and epilepsy. Definition here<<: Get our researchers on it for stroke for acute vs. chronic.
http://news.bioscholar.com/2012/07/nerve-stimulation-plus-standard-therapy-may-accelerate-stroke-recovery.html
UT Dallas researchers recently demonstrated how nerve stimulation paired with specific experiences, such as movements or sounds, can reorganize the brain and improve its function.
This technology could lead to new treatments for stroke, tinnitus, autism and other disorders.
A team led by Dr. Robert Rennaker and Dr. Michael Kilgard looked at
whether repeatedly pairing vagus nerve stimulation with a specific
movement would change neural activity within the laboratory rats’
primary motor cortex. To test the hypothesis, they paired the vagus
nerve stimulation with movements of the forelimb in two groups of rats.
After five days of stimulation and movement pairing, the researchers
examined the brain activity in response to the stimulation. The rats who
received the training along with the stimulation displayed large
changes in the organization of the brain’s movement control system. The
animals receiving identical motor training without stimulation pairing
did not exhibit any brain changes, or plasticity.
People who suffer strokes or brain trauma often undergo
rehabilitation that includes repeated movement of the affected limb in
an effort to regain motor skills. It is believed that repeated use of
the affected limb causes reorganization of the brain essential to
recovery.
The recent study suggested that pairing vagus nerve stimulation with
standard therapy may result in more rapid and extensive reorganization
of the brain, offering the potential for speeding and improving recovery
following stroke, said Rennaker, associate professor in The University
of Texas at Dallas’ School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
“Our goal is to use the brain’s natural neuromodulatory systems to
enhance the effectiveness of standard therapies,” Rennaker said.
“Our studies in sensory and motor cortex suggest that the technique
has the potential to enhance treatments for neurological conditions
ranging from chronic pain to motor disorders. Future studies will
investigate its effectiveness in treating cognitive impairments,” he
stated.
Since vagus nerve stimulation has an excellent safety record in human
patients with epilepsy, the technique provides a new method to treat
brain conditions in which the timing of brain responses is abnormal,
including dyslexia and schizophrenia.
If subsequent studies confirm the UT Dallas findings, human patients
may have access to more efficient therapies that are minimally invasive
and avoid long-term use of drugs.
The results were published in a recent issue of Cerebral Cortex.
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers.
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