Treatment of consumption disorders with biostimulation

摘要

Nerves that carry taste sensations to the brain are stimulated in order to diminish (or, depending on the application, augment) the pleasure ordinarily associated with consumption behavior to be modified.

主权项

1. An apparatus for diminishing a user's desire for oral gratification, the apparatus comprising:
(a) at least two spaced-apart electrodes for establishing an electric circuit across a portion of a user's body, at least one of the electrodes being configured to contact a surface in the user's oral cavity; and (b) circuitry configured to generate, across the electrodes, an electrical signal comprising a train of pulses having a width that is varied over time during a single application of the signal to the surface in the user's oral cavity, the signal eliciting a neural response that diminishes the user's desire for oral gratification, wherein the train comprises some pulses having a first width and other pulses having a second width different from the first, and the pulse-widths vary from the first width to the second width and back to the first width during a single application of the signal.