Abstract

Paired stimulation of the brain and spinal cord can remodel the central nervous tissue circuitry in an animal model to induce motor neuroplasticity. The effects of simultaneous stimulation vary according to the extent and severity of spinal cord injury. Therefore, our study aimed to determine the significant effects on an incomplete SCI rat brain and spinal cord through 3 min and 20 min stimulations after 4 weeks of intervention. Thirty-three Sprague Dawley rats were classified into six groups: (1) normal, (2) sham, (3) iTBS/tsDCS, (4) iTBS/ts-iTBS, (5) rTMS/tsDCS, and (6) rTMS/ts-iTBS. Paired stimulation of the brain cortex and spinal cord thoracic (T10) level was applied simultaneously for 3–20 min. The motor evoked potential (MEP) and Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores were recorded after every week of intervention for four weeks along with wheel training for 20 min. Three-minute stimulation with the iTBS/tsDCS intervention induced a significant (p < 0.050 *) increase in MEP after week 2 and week 4 treatments, while 3 min iTBS/ts-iTBS significantly improved MEP (p < 0.050 *) only after the week 3 intervention. The 20 min rTMS/ts-iTBS intervention showed a significant change only in post_5 min after week 4. The BBB score also changed significantly in all groups except for the 20 min rTMS/tsDCS intervention. iTBS/tsDCS and rTMS/ts-iTBS interventions induce neuroplasticity in an incomplete SCI animal model by significantly changing electrophysiological (MEP) and locomotion (BBB) outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9447
JournalInternational journal of molecular sciences
Volume23
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2022

Keywords

  • in vitro stimulation
  • intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS)
  • paired stimulation
  • repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
  • spinal cord injury (SCI)
  • transspinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS)
  • transspinal intermittent theta burst stimulation (ts-iTBS)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Molecular Biology
  • Spectroscopy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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