Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) and Rehabilitation in the Treatment of TBI

摘要

Prior studies have found that VNS is effective in accelerating and enhancing recovery of function following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The main limitation to these earlier results is that VNS treatment was initiated at either 2 hr or 24 hr after TBI. Present findings indicate that VNS treatment is effective for recovery of function after TBI even when the initiation of VNS treatment is delayed until two weeks after injury. In addition, present evidence demonstrates that, in general, practice, or a rehabilitation regimen, that is conducted across consecutive days is more effective when done in conjunction with VNS treatment. In conjunction with VNS, a regimen of delayed practice (every two days) was found to be less effective than consecutive practice for functional recovery. These results provide heretofore unknown answers regarding the potential utility of VNS as a clinical treatment for human TBI.