Non-invasive modulation reduces repetitive behavior in a rat model through the sensorimotor cortico-striatal circuit

Transl Psychiatry. 2018 Jan 10;8(1):11. doi: 10.1038/s41398-017-0059-5.

Abstract

Involuntary movements as seen in repetitive disorders such as Tourette Syndrome (TS) results from cortical hyperexcitability that arise due to striato-thalamo-cortical circuit (STC) imbalance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a stimulation procedure that changes cortical excitability, yet its relevance in repetitive disorders such as TS remains largely unexplored. Here, we employed the dopamine transporter-overexpressing (DAT-tg) rat model to investigate behavioral and neurobiological effects of frontal tDCS. The outcome of tDCS was pathology dependent, as anodal tDCS decreased repetitive behavior in the DAT-tg rats yet increased it in wild-type (wt) rats. Extensive deep brain stimulation (DBS) application and computational modeling assigned the response in DAT-tg rats to the sensorimotor pathway. Neurobiological assessment revealed cortical activity changes and increase in striatal inhibitory properties in the DAT-tg rats. Our findings show that tDCS reduces repetitive behavior in the DAT-tg rat through modulation of the sensorimotor STC circuit. This sets the stage for further investigating the usage of tDCS in repetitive disorders such as TS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology*
  • Corpus Striatum / physiopathology*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / metabolism*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Tourette Syndrome / therapy*
  • Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation*

Substances

  • Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins