For unknown reasons, five-to-ten percent of people who experience Traumatic Brain Injuries have symptoms that extend beyond six weeks. These people are diagnosed with Post-Concussive Syndrome (PCS).

Some of the possible symptoms of Post-Concussive Syndrome are: Headaches, Dizziness or Lightheadedness, Vertigo, Ringing in the Ears or Hearing Impairment, Loss of Appetite, Sensitivity to Noise and/or Light, Anxiety, Irritability, Depression, Problems with Sleeping (such as being tired all the time or not being able to sleep), Nausea or Vomiting, Confusion, Memory Problems, Slower Intellectual processing Speed, Slurred Speech, Blurred and/or Double Vision, Decreased Sense of Smell and/or Taste, Lack of Balance and Coordination, Alcoholic Beverage Intolerance, Personality Changes, and Decreased Sex Drive.

Unfortunately, there are no current proven-successful treatments for PCS.

However, a study is underway. Preliminary testing was done by Kravitz, Ph. D and Thimeneur, MD. on the effectiveness of Occipital Nerve Stimulation on TBI patients, and the results were published as "The effect of Occipital Stimulation on Cognitive Function in Mild TBI." The results of the study showed that both headache relief and neuropsychological tests showed significant improvement on the TBI patients after Occipital Stimulation treatments.

Based on this research and the creation of Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), Scripps La Jolla will be performing a Phase 1 Pilot Study to test the feasibility and efficacy of C2-C3 dermatomal Peripheral Nerve Stimulation on symptoms due to traumatic brain injury. This will be a single-center study at Scripps La Jolla for 6 months, studying between six-to-ten patients suffering from moderate TBI.