Title : Targeted plasticity therapy & new targets
Abstract:
Injury and disease can lead to a myriad of neural control problems (e.g., following spinal cord injury or stroke). Rehabilitation is a leading therapy for patients, but it only leads to modest neural plasticity & recovery. Targeted plasticity therapy (TPT) is an emerging therapy that enhances the effects of rehabilitation, via augmenting neural plasticity. During TPT, successful events (e.g., a good movement) are precisely and repeatedly paired with vagus nerve stimulation. Vagus nerve stimulation leads to the brief release of neuromodulators that initiate plasticity cascades (e.g., axonal sprouting or synaptic modifications). Over time, this allows for neural circuits to rewire to target tissues facilitating recovery of function. TPT is now excitingly approved by the Food and Drug Administration for enhancing upper limb rehabilitation in patients with stroke and is also in various stages of clinical trial testing for treating a number of other diseases. This presentation will overview TPT and also discuss possible new targets.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- The audience will be able to use content learned in the presentation related to neural circuits, bioelectronic medicines, and the newest innovations in the neuromodulation space.
- The presentation will focus on ways to enhance brain change, and will contain other content that the audience can possibly use in their scientific studies.
- The presentation will be educational on the fronts of cutting-edge neuroscience and translational neurotechnology.
