Prenatal cerebrovascular stroke can cause permanent damage to the brain followed by deficits in neuro-muscular functioning. We hypothesize that recovery can be enhanced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) through changes in cortical plasticity. Unilateral hypoxia-ischemia (HI) was produced in rats on postnatal day 7 (P7). At P21, anodal tDCS was given to HI pups for 7 days. tDCS treated HI pups showed improved weight, grip strength, gait, motor function, and concentrations of brain-derived neurotropic factor cortex ratios compared to non-treated HI animal controls. These findings support tDCS following HI as an effective therapeutic for neonatal stroke.
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