A novel method of non-invasive brain stimulation to enhance motor function in chronic stroke patients

Project Summary/Abstract The discovery of more effective treatment for stroke is a pressing clinical demand. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), offers a promising treatment for many neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, to date, the clinical efficacy has proven highly variable. This is likely because current NIBS approaches cannot precisely modulate patterns of brain activity at intensity levels sufficient to produce physiological and behavioral change that are clinically relevant. The goal of this proposal is to test and validate a novel first-in-class non-invasive approach to enhance motor function in chronic stroke patients. We have developed a kilohertz Transcranial Magnetic Perturbation (kTMP) device, which allows to target frequency-specific neural activity non-invasively - with no patient discomfort - at and beyond stimulation intensities associated with enhanced recovery from stroke (up to 8 V/m), something that is not possible to achieve with existing NIBS methods. The three-year funding period will be used to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of kTMP in improving upper limb motor performance in patients suffering from chronic stroke. After confirming the safety and tolerability of kTMP in a larger cohort of chronic stroke patients, we will target the perilesional motor cortex and assess short-term (Aim 1) and long-term (Aim 2) improvement of motor performance, and corresponding physiological changes induced by kTMP stimulation. If our expectations are confirmed, our novel NIBS system holds the promise of revolutionizing the treatment landscape for patients with debilitating dysfunction post-stroke, paving the way for a new era of enhanced recovery and improved quality of life.