Article

Neural plasticity is widely believed to support functional recovery following
brain damage. Vagus nerve stimulation paired with different forelimb movements
causes long-lasting map plasticity in rat primary motor cortex that is specific
to the paired movement. We tested the hypothesis that repeatedly pairing vagus
nerve stimulation with upper forelimb movements would improve recovery of motor
function in a rat model of stroke. Rats were separated into 3 groups: vagus nerve
stimulation during rehabilitation (rehab), vagus nerve stimulation after rehab,
and rehab alone. Animals underwent 4 training stages: shaping (motor skill
learning), prelesion training, postlesion training, and therapeutic training.
Rats were given a unilateral ischemic lesion within motor cortex and implanted
with a left vagus nerve cuff. Animals were allowed 1 week of recovery before
postlesion baseline training. During the therapeutic training stage, rats
received vagus nerve stimulation paired with each successful trial. All 17
trained rats demonstrated significant contralateral forelimb impairment when
performing a bradykinesia assessment task. Forelimb function was recovered
completely to prelesion levels when vagus nerve stimulation was delivered during
rehab training. Alternatively, intensive rehab training alone (without
stimulation) failed to restore function to prelesion levels. Delivering the same
amount of stimulation after rehab training did not yield improvements compared
with rehab alone. These results demonstrate that vagus nerve stimulation
repeatedly paired with successful forelimb movements can improve recovery after
motor cortex ischemia and may be a viable option for stroke rehabilitation.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS