Cortical Electrical Stimulation Ameliorates Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Sensorimotor and Cognitive Deficits in Rats

Abstract

Objective: Individuals with different severities of traumatic brain injury (TBI) often suffer long-lasting motor, sensory, neurological, or cognitive disturbances. To date, no neuromodulation-based therapies have been used to manage the functional deficits associated with TBI. Cortical electrical stimulation (CES) has been increasingly developed for modulating brain plasticity and is considered to have therapeutic potential in TBI. However, the therapeutic value of such a technique for TBI is still unclear. Accordingly, an animal model of this disease would be helpful for mechanistic insight into using CES as a novel treatment approach in TBI. The current study aims to apply a novel CES scheme with a theta-burst stimulation (TBS) protocol to identify the therapeutic potential of CES in a weight drop-induced rat model of TBI.Methods: TBI rats were divided into the sham CES treatment group and CES treatment group. Following early and long-term CES intervention (starting 24 h after TBI, 1 session/day, 5 days/week) in awake TBI animals for a total of 4 weeks, the effects of CES on the modified neurological severity score (mNSS), sensorimotor and cognitive behaviors and neuroinflammatory changes were identified.Results: We found that the 4-week CES intervention significantly alleviated the TBI-induced neurological, sensorimotor, and cognitive deficits in locomotor activity, sensory and recognition memory. Immunohistochemically, we found that CES mitigated the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) activation in the hippocampus.Conclusion: These findings suggest that CES has significant benefits in alleviating TBI-related symptoms and represents a promising treatment for TBI.

Short-Term Cortical Electrical Stimulation during the Acute Stage of Traumatic Brain Injury Improves Functional Recovery

“…Several preclinical studies have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of CES for TBI. Four weeks of CES treatment in TBI rats improved locomotor function and spatial memory recovery [ 14 , 15 ]. Three-week electrical stimulation may enhance angiogenesis and improve the cognitive deficits induced by TBI [ 10 ].…”

“…The stimulation protocol, such as the different positions of electrodes and neural targets, the current intensity, the duration, the timing of stimulation, the usage of the concomitant task, and the time point of the application of electrical stimulation, may influence the therapeutic outcomes of electrical stimulation. Various stimulation protocols have been tried in animal models and have shown their potential in the treatment of TBI [ 10 , 14 , 15 ]. These studies used 3 to 4 weeks of invasive CES.…”

Electrical stimulation methods and protocols for the treatment of traumatic brain injury: a critical review of preclinical research

“…In addition to the methods mentioned above, there are several other promising electrical stimulation modalities that may be effective in the treatment of TBI sequelae. Electrical cortical stimulation, an invasive method where electrodes are implanted near the cortical surface, can be used to modulate brain plasticity to treat sensorimotor and cognitive deficits in rats [137]. Similarly, epidural electrical stimulation utilizes pulsed stimulation protocols applied to electrodes implanted in the epidural or subdural space to enhance motor recovery and brain activity [138][139][140].…”

Neurostimulation for Functional Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury: Current Evidence and Future Directions for Invasive Surgical Approaches

“…The team found both methods to improve rats' performance on Y-maze and single pellet reaching tasks but noted the improvement was greater in animals treated with direct cortical stimulation. 39 More recently, Kuo et al 40 stimulated motor and parietal cortex in 23 post-WDM rats, measuring significant improvement across a number of functional domains including short-term memory, locomotor ability, and sensory function.…”