A method (of treating a patient who has tinnitus) includes: providing to the patient a series of tones including at least a single tone which is at least a half-octave outside a tinnitus frequency of the patient; and applying vagus nerve stimulation to the patient to induce a period of plasticity in a cortex of the patient that is transitory and that represents a transitory opportunity for learning to occur; and wherein the at least a single tone occurs during the transitory opportunity for learning.

Systems and methods for stimulating the sensory cortex of an individual by obtaining a neuronal stimulation signal adapted to provide a movement cue for the individual and transmitting the neuronal stimulation signal to an electric contact of a neuronal stimulation electrode that is already implanted into the brain of the individual for a purpose different from providing the movement cue. Proprioceptive information is communicated to the individual by obtaining information about the body posture of the individual and applying a neuronal stimulation signal to an afferent axon targeting a sensory neuron in the cortex of the individual. The neuronal stimulation signal is determined based on the obtained body posture information and corresponds to the proprioceptive information. A first neuronal stimulation signal providing the movement cue and a second neuronal stimulation signal providing the proprioceptive information may be applied together to the cortex of the individual.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for increasing performance, improving sleep and improving relaxation that involve specifically coordinating nerve stimulation of a cranial nerve (e.g. vagus nerve) in conjunction with augmented reality (AR). According to certain embodiments disclosed are systems that include an AR component that presents information or a stimulus and provides cranial nerve fiber stimulation (CNFS) at strategic times to reduce anxiety/arousal/related during user activity or scenarios and reinforce learning.

Methods and apparatus for improving cognitive function within a human. The invention utilizes an implanted device, such as an implantable signal generator or an implantable pump, to affect tissue elements within a Papez circuit of the human brain as well as tissue upstream or downstream from the Papez circuit. The implanted device delivers treatment therapy to thereby improve cognitive function by the human. A sensor may be used to detect various symptoms of the cognitive disorder. A microprocessor algorithm may then analyze the output from the sensor to regulate delivery of the stimulation and/or drug therapy.

Disclosed is a method of enhancing exposure therapy including providing an exposure therapy to a patient and stimulating the patient's vagus nerve at the same time as the exposure therapy. Also disclosed is a post-traumatic stress disorder therapy method including providing an exposure event to a patient and stimulating the patient's vagus nerve during the exposure event. Also disclosed is a phobia disorder therapy method including providing an extinction event to a patient and stimulating the patient's vagus nerve during the exposure event. Also disclosed is an obsessive compulsive disorder therapy method including providing a therapy event to a patient and stimulating the patient's vagus nerve during the therapy event. Also disclosed is an addiction disorder therapy method including providing a therapy event to a patient and stimulating the patient's vagus nerve during the therapy event.

Systems and methods for improving behavioral therapies encompassing therapies wherein a perceptual stimulus is administered to a subject or a motor behavior is performed by the subject. Such administration of perceptual stimuli or motor performance is paired with the delivery of vagus nerve stimulation to the subject. The vagus nerve stimulation is timed with the sensory stimulus administration or motor performance in a temporal alignment that maximizes neuroplasticity and performance. Systems for performance of the method and associated software are also disclosed

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, mechanisms (which can, for example, include systems, methods, and media) for detecting an effortful mental state providing real-time deep brain stimulation to enhance performance of effortful mental tasks are provided. In some embodiments, system for detecting and facilitating effortful mental states is provided, the system comprising: monitoring sensors to capture neural activity from a subject's brain; an implanted stimulator to provide electrical stimulation to the subject's brain; a hardware processor programmed to: correlate activity in a first and second region of the subject brain during task performance; correlate activity in the first and second regions during task non performance; train a support vector machine (SVM) using the correlations as first and second class examples; and provide stimulation to augment brain function when the SVM indicates, based on activity in the first and second regions, the subject is in the mental state.

A method of treating tinnitus comprising measuring a patient's hearing, determining the patient's hearing loss and the patient's tinnitus frequency using the measurements of the patient's hearing, programming a clinical controller with the measurements of the patient's hearing, selecting a plurality of therapeutic tones, where the therapeutic tones are selected to be at least a half-octave above or below of the patient's tinnitus frequency, setting an appropriate volume for each of the plurality of tones, repetitively playing each of the plurality of therapeutic tones, and pairing a vagus nerve stimulation pulse train with each playing of a therapeutic tone, thereby reducing the patient's perception of tinnitus.

In rehabilitation, a stimulation pattern when applied to a body part by a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) device is effective to cause the body part to perform an intended action. The applying includes increasing a stimulation level at which the stimulation pattern is applied over time and, during the applying, acquiring video of the body part. The body part is monitored during the applying by analysis of the video, and the applying is automatically stopped in response to the monitoring indicating the body part has performed the intended action. The stimulation pattern may be defined as one or more subsets of electrodes of the NMES device and an electrode group stimulation level for each respective subset of electrodes, and the increasing of the stimulation level comprises increasing a scaling factor applied to the electrode group stimulation levels over time.

Methods and systems for optimizing invasive and noninvasive brain stimulation are described herein. In a particular embodiment, methods and systems for a combinatorial, iterative approach to modify behavior are presented wherein deep brain stimulation (DBS) and other brain stimulation therapies are implemented in combination with monitoring the brain activity of an individual to optimize the effectiveness of the combinatorial approach to modify behavior. Methods described herein are iterative and systems described herein are utilized in iterative fashion. In a particular embodiment, modifying behavior provides a therapy for an individual in need thereof.