Deep Brain Stimulation For Stroke: Continuous Stimulation Of The Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus Has No Impact On Skilled Walking In Rats After Photothrombotic Stroke

Background: Gait impairment after stroke is considered as a loss of cerebral function but is also the result of dysfunctional cerebral signals travelling to the spinal motor centres. A therapeutic option to restore disturbed cerebral network activity is deep brain stimulation (DBS).Methods: A promising target for neuromodulation might be the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg), which contributes to the initiation and control of gait. To test this hypothesis, we trained eighteen rats to cross a horizontal ladder and a wooden beam before inflicting a photothrombosis in the right sensorimotor cortex and implanting a stimulating electrode in the ipsilateral PPTg.Results: Continuous high-frequency DBS (130 Hz; amplitude 55 +/- 5 mu A) of rats for 10 days yielded no significant improvement of skilled walking when examined with the ladder rung walking test and beam walking test compared to sham-stimulation.Conclusion: In contrast to DBS of the cuneiform nucleus, PPTg-stimulation improves neither control of gait nor balance after stroke.