Abstract
Cerebellar ataxia encompasses a wide range of neurological disorders characterized by a lack of coordinated movements. Recently, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to be a possible therapy of cerebellar ataxia in humans. Animal studies have demonstrated that the cerebellar tDCS is capable of modifying the output of the motor cortex through the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway. However, changes in cellular mechanism of the Purkinje cells due to the cerebellar tDCS treatment is unclear. In this study, Purkinje cell extracellular potentials were recorded to determine if the cerebellar tDCS altered the activity of these cells. The recordings from four Purkinje cells showed an average increase in firing rate of 26.8% after the application of the cerebellar tDCS. Only one cell with a fluctuating base firing rate showed a decrease in the average firing rate during the stimulation. The results may support the previous studies that electrophysiological changes occur in the motor cortex as a consequence of altered Purkinje cell firing. In order to investigate the mechanism of these changes, future experiments will be performed with simultaneous recordings from Purkinje cells and motor cortical neurons with the application of tDCS.
Original language | American English |
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State | Published - May 12 2015 |
Disciplines
- Medicine and Health Sciences