Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Germany (S.J.B., S.V., N.P., H.L.W., L.J.V., G.R.F., M.A., M.S., M.A.R.).
Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, Germany (S.J.B., G.R.F., M.H., M.A., M.S., M.A.R.).
Stroke. 2023 Aug;54(8):2145-2155. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.123.042808. Epub 2023 Jun 28.
Beyond focal effects, stroke lesions impact the function of distributed networks. We here investigated (1) whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) alters the network changes induced by cerebral ischemia and (2) whether functional network parameters predict the therapeutic efficacy of tDCS in a mouse model of focal photothrombotic stroke.
Starting 3 days after stroke, cathodal tDCS (charge density=39.6 kC/m²) was applied over 10 days in male C57Bl/6J mice under light anesthesia over the lesioned sensory-motor cortex. Functional connectivity (resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging) was evaluated for up to 28-day poststroke, with global graph parameters of network integration computed.
Ischemia induced a subacute increase in connectivity accompanied by a significant reduction in characteristic path length, reversed by 10 days of tDCS. Early measures of functional network alterations and the network configuration at prestroke baseline predicted spontaneous and tDCS-augmented motor recovery.
Stroke induces characteristic network changes throughout the brain that can be detected by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. These network changes were, at least in part, reversed by tDCS. Moreover, early markers of a network impairment and the network configuration before the insult improve the prediction of motor recovery.
除了局灶性效应外，中风病灶还会影响分布式网络的功能。本研究旨在调查：（1）经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）是否会改变脑缺血引起的网络变化；（2）在局灶性光血栓性中风的小鼠模型中，功能网络参数是否可以预测 tDCS 的治疗效果。
中风发生后 3 天，在轻度麻醉下，通过在受损的感觉运动皮层上施加阴极 tDCS（电荷密度=39.6 kC/m²），连续 10 天进行治疗。在中风后长达 28 天的时间内，通过静息态功能磁共振成像评估功能连接，计算网络整合的全局图参数。
缺血引起了连接的亚急性增加，同时特征路径长度显著降低，经 10 天 tDCS 治疗后得到逆转。早期的功能网络改变指标和中风前的网络结构可以预测自发性和 tDCS 增强的运动恢复。
中风会导致大脑中出现特征性的网络变化，这些变化可以通过静息态功能磁共振成像检测到。tDCS 至少部分地逆转了这些网络变化。此外，网络损伤的早期标志物和损伤前的网络结构可以提高运动恢复的预测能力。
