ABSTRACT
Experimental treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI) often focus on reducing cognitive disorders; however, motor impairments are also common following TBI, but have received less attention. Over the last several decades, there has been growing support for the use of electric or magnetic stimulation of the cortex (CS), or cortical pathways, to enhance recovery of function after other brain injuries, such as stroke. CS studies in stroke patients and in animal models provide compelling evidence that CS can alter brain plasticity and that this likely supports the improved functional motor recovery. While there are only a few studies directly examining the use of CS following TBI, these studies suggest that CS is safe and may also be effective in experimental TBI models. This chapter will cover the evidence supporting the use of CS following brain damage as a means to drive functional recovery and that it can result in structural and functional plasticity of remaining brain areas following injury.
