Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects one in nine people over the age of 65 in the United States. The two major pathologies of AD are the accumulation of neurofibrillary tau tangles and amyloid-beta plaques in the brain. AD patients experience cognitive decline and progressive memory loss and there are currently no approved therapies that can cure or slow the disease progression. The induction of gamma oscillations can be achieved through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and has shown promise in the treatment of AD. Gamma oscillations are repetitive changes in the local field potential (LFP) of the brain, and are generated by GABAergic interneurons, which are inhibitory neurons that regulate neural circuit activity. Gamma oscillations play a key role in memory retrieval and thus hold valuable potential for the treatment of AD. Current TMS treatment must be performed in a clinical setting, making this therapy limiting for patients. As such, a cap design for a minimally invasive, at-home, and wearable TMS device for the treatment of AD has been developed and outlined in this proposal. Potential avenues for the development of smaller electrical components including coils and power supply for TMS are discussed. The expected outcomes of using the proposed TMS therapy for AD include reduced hippocampal long-term potential (LTP) impairment and spatial memory, relieved symptoms of memory loss associated with AD, reduced neurogenesis, and increased recovery action of lost neural populations.
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- Srusti Bheem Sain, Gaia Di Bernardini, Niharika Mahesh Dhande, Kyla Frenia, Abby Kuelker, and Ilisha Prasad