# Spinal Direct Current Stimulation to Enhance Breathing Following Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

> **NIH NIH K99** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2024 · $126,333

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Candidate and Environment: Dr. Rana’s career objective is to establish an independent research program
aimed to develop therapeutic strategies to enhance respiratory function following spinal cord injuries (SCIs). This
proposal has been carefully designed to supplement the candidate’s strong background in SCI neurobiology and
respiratory neurophysiology with the acquisition of additional technical skills to study neuromodulatory therapies
in rodents and will make her ideally suited to succeed on her career path. The University of Florida is an ideal
place for Dr. Rana to achieve these goals since it is home to the Breathing Research and Therapeutics Center
which brings together basic and clinician scientists devoted to understanding and addressing physiological
challenges of respiratory motor control in disease and injury conditions. The core mentoring team consists of Dr.
David Fuller (scientist) and Dr. Emily Fox (clinician-scientist), who are leaders in the field of respiratory motor
control and SCI rehabilitation, and have a track record of successful mentees. Research: Respiratory
complications are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the SCI population. Thus, strategies to target
respiratory motor recovery are urgently needed. Transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) is a
non-invasive neuromodulatory therapy that involves the delivery of a constant low-intensity current to target
neural tissue, resulting in increased activation of spinal pathways and motor neuron excitability. However, the
feasibility and efficacy of tsDCS to restore breathing following SCI has never been investigated. We have recently
demonstrated that ampakines (allosteric modulators of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5- methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid
(AMPA) receptors) enhance diaphragm muscle activation at acute and chronic stages of SCI. Thus, we
hypothesize that 1) tsDCS can safely stimulate diaphragm motor output after incomplete cervical SCI, and 2)
pairing tsDCS with low-dose ampakine promotes neuroplasticity, and therefore, is an effective respiratory
neurorehabilitation approach. We will use a multidisciplinary approach, including controlled neurophysiological
phrenic nerve preparations (Aim 1 & 2) and a comprehensive system to quantify diaphragm activity and overall
ventilation in awake/unrestrained rats (Aim 3 & 4) to accomplish the following aims: 1.) Develop an effective
tsDCS protocol to increase phrenic activation after cervical SCI; 2.) Test whether pairing ampakine therapy with
tsDCS will promote sustained increases in phrenic output; 3.) Test whether tsDCS paired with ampakines can
safely enhance diaphragm EMG output in awake rats with cervical SCI; 4.) Test whether a rehabilitation
paradigm, consisting of daily tsDCS + low-dose ampakine therapy, can promote sustained recovery of diaphragm
activation after cervical SCI. This application encompasses both mentored and independent phases. For the
mentored phase of this applicatio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10886393
- **Project number:** 1K99NS133388-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sabhya Rana
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $126,333
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-10 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10886393

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10886393, Spinal Direct Current Stimulation to Enhance Breathing Following Cervical Spinal Cord Injury (1K99NS133388-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10886393. Licensed CC0.

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