Methods for enhancing exposure therapy using pairing with Vagus nerve stimulation
A therapy method (for a patient having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) includes: providing an exposure event, to the patient, which is related to a traumatic event that contributed to the PTSD; and, during a therapy session which includes the exposure event, applying vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). A therapy method (for a patient having a given disorder, e.g., a phobia disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or an addiction disorder) includes: providing a therapy event (e.g., an extinction event for a phobia disorder), to the patient, which is related to one or more things that contributed to the given disorder; and during a therapy session which includes the therapy event, applying VNS.
1. A therapy method for a patient having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the therapy method comprising:
providing an exposure event to the patient which is related to a traumatic event that contributed to the PTSD; and
providing vagus nerve stimulation to the patient electrically during a therapy session which includes the exposure event using a neurostimulator.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapy method is a memory extinction therapy method.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation intensity equal to or less than about 0.8 mA.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the exposure event includes a trigger event; and
timing of the vagus nerve stimulation is based on the trigger event.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the exposure event contains sensory recreations of a traumatic event.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation is performed electrically and invasively.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing an exposure event and the vagus nerve stimulation results in a reduction in symptoms of PTSD experienced by the patient.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the patient is a patient where the PTSD took months to develop following an initial exposure to a traumatic event that resulted in the PTSD.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing an exposure event and the vagus nerve stimulation occur long after a traumatic event that resulted in the PTSD.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing an exposure event and the vagus nerve stimulation facilitate a natural extinction process of the patient that protects most people from developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapy method is a memory extinction therapy method, the memory extinction therapy method alleviating, at least in part, the post-traumatic stress disorder.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation duration of about 100 msec to about 30 sec.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation frequency of about 10 Hz to about 150 Hz.
14. A therapy method for a patient having a phobia disorder, therapy method comprising:
providing an extinction event to the patient which is related to something that contributed to the phobia disorder; and
providing vagus nerve stimulation to the patient electrically during a therapy session which includes the extinction event using a neurostimulator, thereby at least partially alleviating the phobia disorder.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
executing a retention test to determine a duration of an extinction of the phobia disorder.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation is performed electrically and invasively.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation intensity equal to or less than about 0.8 mA.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein a duration of the vagus nerve stimulation is about 100 msec to about 30 sec.
19. The method of claim 14 , wherein a frequency of the vagus nerve stimulation is about 10 Hz to about 150 Hz.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the providing an extinction event and the vagus nerve stimulation results in a reduction in symptoms of the phobia disorder experienced by the patient.
21. A therapy method for a patient having an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the therapy method comprising:
providing a therapy event to the patient which is related to something that contributed to the OCD; and
providing vagus nerve stimulation to the patient electrically during a therapy session which includes the therapy event using a neurostimulator.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the providing a therapy event includes providing an exposure event to the patient.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the providing a therapy event and the vagus nerve stimulation results in a reduction in symptoms of the OCD experienced by the patient.
24. The method of claim 21 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation is performed electrically and invasively.
25. The method of claim 21 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation intensity equal to or less than about 0.8 mA.
26. The method of claim 21 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation duration of about 100 msec to about 30 sec.
27. The method of claim 21 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation frequency of about 10 Hz to about 150 Hz.
28. A therapy method for a patient having an addiction disorder, the therapy method comprising:
providing a therapy event to a patient which is related to one or more things that contributed to the addiction disorder; and
providing vagus nerve stimulation to the patient electrically during a therapy session which includes the therapy event using a neurostimulator.
29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the providing a therapy event includes providing an exposure event to the patient.
30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the providing a therapy event and the vagus nerve stimulation results in a reduction in symptoms of the addiction disorder experienced by the patient.
31. The method of claim 28 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation intensity equal to or less than about 0.8 mA.
32. The method of claim 28 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation duration of about 100 msec to about 30 sec.
33. The method of claim 28 , wherein the vagus nerve stimulation has a stimulation frequency of about 10 Hz to about 150 Hz.