The present invention provides a method and apparatus for implementing a training regimen which alleviates exaggerated sensory, perceptual, cognitive and/or emotional response problems. For example, in the aural domain, some autistic individuals are hypersensitive to one of the senses, e.g., sound. As discussed above, sounds at the specific frequency can cause discomfort to these autistic individuals even when presented at an intensity level which normally is not perceived as being too loud by most individuals. Similarly, tinnitus afflicted individuals also suffer from disconcerting perceived ringing sensations in their ears. The present invention hypothesizes that a catastrophic cascade of responses within a "supergroup" of auditory neurons is triggered by a hypersensitive response to a particular frequency or range of frequencies. The self sustaining cascade is very much like an epileptic seizure in which the sudden involuntary response of a relatively small group of neurons trigger responses in a supergroup of neurons located in the motor control region of the brain. In accordance with the present invention, the abnormally sensitive response problem associated with supergroups can be substantially alleviated via a remedial training regimen which emphasizes the redevelopment of the afflicted individual's ability to make fine sensory distinctions and/or the improvement of the individual's differential sensory acuteness. Providing the regimen to the individual consistently over a period of time increases the likelihood of normal or near normal sensory ability returning.
An automated method for treating tinnitus by habituation through use of neurological feedback, comprising the steps of connecting a subject through a set of attached headphones to an electronic sound player that is connected to a PC workstation presenting sound examples by software to the subject who can refine them by manipulating a series of controllers on the player, making an electronic recording of the sound in a digital music format, storing the recording in the computer, transferring a copy of the electronic sound file to the subject's electronic music player, generating an EEC signature of the subject's brain activity in response to the presented sound, sound using the customized sound to stimulate the auditory system while the brain activity is recorded, wherein the computer continuously monitors for the feedback signatures and drives the sound stimuli appropriately.
An automated method for treating tinnitus by habituation through use of neurological feedback, comprising the steps of connecting a subject through a set of attached headphones to an electronic sound player that is connected to a PC workstation presenting sound examples by software to the subject who can refine them by manipulating a series of controllers on the player, making an electronic recording of the sound in a digital music format, storing the recording in the computer, transferring a copy of the electronic sound file to the subject's electronic music player, generating an EEC signature of the subject's brain activity in response to the presented sound, sound using the customized sound to stimulate the auditory system while the brain activity is recorded, wherein the computer continuously monitors for the feedback signatures and drives the sound stimuli appropriately.
Hearing aid fitted with a central processing unit (1) having peripherals (3E, 3A) connected to its input and output. Each peripheral includes an identification unit (5) having an output connected to a first input of a comparator (9). A second input of the comparator is connected to a read-only identification memory (11) containing identification features of the peripherals. An output of the comparator drives a configuration memory (15). As a result, the hearing aid self identifies its current configuration based on the identification of the peripherals.
Computer executable software and device for guiding brain activity training comprising: logic which takes data corresponding to activity measurements of one or more internal voxels of a brain and determines one or more members of the group consisting of: a) what next stimulus to communicate to the subject, b) what next behavior to instruct the subject to perform, c) when a subject is to be exposed to a next stimulus, d) when the subject is to perform a next behavior, e) one or more activity metrics computed from the measured activity, f) a spatial pattern computed from the measured activity, g) a location of a region of interest computed from the measured activity, h) performance targets that a subject is to achieve computed from the measured activity, i) a performance measure of a subject's success computed from the measured activity, j) a subject's position relative to an activity measurement instrument; and logic for communicating information based on the determinations to the subject in substantially real time relative to when the activity is measured.
Computer executable software and device for guiding brain activity training comprising: logic which takes data corresponding to activity measurements of one or more internal voxels of a brain and determines one or more members of the group consisting of: a) what next stimulus to communicate to the subject, b) what next behavior to instruct the subject to perform, c) when a subject is to be exposed to a next stimulus, d) when the subject is to perform a next behavior, e) one or more activity metrics computed from the measured activity, f) a spatial pattern computed from the measured activity, g) a location of a region of interest computed from the measured activity, h) performance targets that a subject is to achieve computed from the measured activity, i) a performance measure of a subject's success computed from the measured activity, j) a subject's position relative to an activity measurement instrument; and logic for communicating information based on the determinations to the subject in substantially real time relative to when the activity is measured.
