Spinal plasticity and functional recovery of locomotion after central nervous system lesions

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16370
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Science (2017); Keio University (2015-2016)
• Principal Investigator: Yamaguchi Tomofumi 山形県立保健医療大学, 保健医療学部, 准教授 (20594956)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 脊髄可塑性 / 電気刺激療法 / 経頭蓋直流電気刺激 / 経頭蓋磁気刺激 / 歩行 / 脊髄損傷 / 脳卒中 / リハビリテーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present research aimed to investigate effective settings of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and patterned electrical stimulation (PES) to induce spinal plasticity and promote functional recovery of locomotion after central nervous system lesions. The results provided that 1 mA anodal tDCS enhances spinal plasticity induced by PES. Moreover, the combination of 1 mA anodal tDCS and PES temporarily improves the ankle muscle co-contraction during the swing phase of gait in patient with stroke. These results suggest 1 mA anodal tDCS combined with PES may be effective as an adjuvant therapy to other locomotor training therapies, such as treadmill walking with partial body weight support and robot-assisted locomotor training, while its lasting effects may promote the functional recovery of locomotion after central nervous system lesions.

Free Research Field

リハビリテーション科学