Transcranial direct current stimulation for balance and gait in repetitive mild traumatic brain injury in rats

Background Balance impairment and lack of postural orientation are serious problems in patients with repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Objective To investigate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) can improve balance control and gait in repetitive mTBI rat models. Methods In this prospective animal study, 65 repetitive mTBI rats were randomly assigned to two groups: the tDCS group and the control group. To create repetitive mTBI model rats, we induced mTBI in the rats for 3 consecutive days. The tDCS group received one session of anodal tDCS over the M1 area 24 h after the third induced mTBI, while the control group did not receive tDCS treatment. Motor-evoked potential (MEP), foot-fault test, and rotarod test were evaluated before mTBI, before tDCS and after tDCS. The Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to assess the effects of variables between the two groups. Results Anodal tDCS over the M1 area significantly improved the amplitude of MEP in the tDCS group (p = 0.041). In addition, rotarod duration was significantly increased in the tDCS group (p = 0.001). The foot-fault ratio was slightly lower in the tDCS group, however, this was not statistically significant. Conclusion Anodal tDCS at the M1 area could significantly improve the amplitude of MEP and balance function in a repetitive mTBI rat model. We expect that anodal tDCS would have the potential to improve balance in patients with repetitive mTBI.