Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

ONGOING RESEARCH:

All current studies focus on developing therapies to aid in the recovery of function after stroke. Future studies will expand this focus to include spinal cord injury. Current studies include:

Enhancement of post-stroke neural plasticity by transcranial direct current stimulation
The goal of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) coupled with intensive task-oriented therapy to promote functional motor recovery in patients with chronic stroke who have severe motor deficits. In addition to measures of motor performance, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) motor maps will be acquired before and after intervention to evaluate cortical reorganization.

Effects of peripheral nerve stimulation and robotic training on motor recovery in severe hemiparesis
The major goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of sustained peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) combined with robotic training to promote functional motor recovery in  patients with chronic stroke who have severe motor deficits. Intensive training alone has not shown benefit for patients with severe motor deficits. This evidence suggests that training alone is unable to increase hand motor function and/or cortical plasticity in such patients. We expect that the degree of behaviorally measured recovery will be accompanied by an expansion of cortical motor areas as measured by TMS.

Driving neuroplasticity and gait recovery with transcranial direct current stimulation in incomplete spinal cord injury
This project will determine whether the combination of tDCS and robot-assisted treadmill training improves motor function more than training alone following spinal cord injury. We will administer motor performance evaluations, such as measurement of walking speed, before and after intervention to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. We will also administer image-guided TMS to evaluate how the brain has changed in response to the intervention.

Facilitating gait recovery with transcranial direct current stimulation in chronic stroke
This study is to determine whether the combination of tDCS and robot-assisted treadmill training improves motor function more than training alone following stroke. We will administer motor performance evaluations, such as measurement of walking speed, before and after intervention to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. We will also perform TMS motor mapping to evaluate how the brain has contributed to recovery.

Comparing brain stimulation schedules in healthy volunteers
This study evaluates the additive effects of tDCS to determine the most potent stimulation schedule. This study of healthy participants will inform the design of future studies of patients with stroke or spinal cord injury.

For information on participating in any of these studies please contact Daniel Aken.