In rats and not driving a car.
Broad Therapeutic Time Window for Driving Motor Recovery After TBI Using Activity-Dependent Stimulation
Abstract
Background:
After
an acquired injury to the motor cortex, the ability to generate skilled
movements is impaired, leading to long-term motor impairment and
disability. While rehabilitative therapy can improve outcomes in some
individuals, there are no treatments currently available that are able
to fully restore lost function.
Objective:
We
previously used activity-dependent stimulation (ADS), initiated
immediately after an injury, to drive motor recovery. The objective of
this study was to determine if delayed application of ADS would still
lead to recovery and if the recovery would persist after treatment was
stopped.
Methods:
Rats
received a controlled cortical impact over primary motor cortex,
microelectrode arrays were implanted in ipsilesional premotor and
somatosensory areas, and a custom brain–machine interface was attached
to perform the ADS. Stimulation was initiated either 1, 2, or 3 weeks
after injury and delivered constantly over a 4-week period. An
additional group was monitored for 8 weeks after terminating ADS to
assess persistence of effect. Results were compared to rats receiving no
stimulation.
Results:
ADS
was delayed up to 3 weeks from injury onset and still resulted in
significant motor recovery, with maximal recovery occurring in the
1-week delay group. The improvements in motor performance persisted for
at least 8 weeks following the end of treatment.
Conclusions:
ADS
is an effective method to treat motor impairments following acquired
brain injury in rats. This study demonstrates the clinical relevance of
this technique as it could be initiated in the post-acute period and
could be explanted/ceased once recovery has occurred.
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