Applying transcutaneous spinal Direct Current Stimulation to Walking rehabilitation

Abstract

To examine the effects of tsDCS (transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation) on gait function, we investigated the change of corticospinal excitability. The participants were 10 healthy adults, and the Randomized sham-control design was used. DC-STIMULATOR was used for tsDCS, and the cathodal electrode was placed on the 11th lumbar vertebrae and the anodal electrode on the right upper arm in the prone position. A tsDCS intervention was performed for 20 minutes with a stimulation intensity of 2.0 mA, while the control condition was used pseudo-stimulation. Regarding the effects of tsDCS on corticospinal excitability, we calculated the coherence values between the lower leg muscles. As a result, an increase in the β-band coherence value was shown in the tibialis anterior muscle between proximal and distal part at the initial stage of the swing leg in the tsDCS group. Because previous studies have reported that EMG-EMG coherence in the β-band can be related to the presence of shared neural presynaptic input from the higher central nervous system, current result suggest that corticospinal excitability can be adjusted by spinal cord stimulation with tsDCS, and may be involved in lower limb motor function during gait.