# Cerebellar deep brain stimulation to enhance chronic post-stroke rehabilitation

> **NIH NIH R01** · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · 2020 · $522,894

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Stroke is a disease of epidemiological proportions in the industrialized world and is a leading cause of long-
term disability. Half of all stroke patients suffer long-term motor deficits severe enough to be disabling despite
contemporary rehabilitative efforts, which underscores the need for novel, neurorestorative therapies to
enhance post-stroke motor recovery. We have previously proposed dentate nucleus deep brain stimulation
(DN-DBS) as a therapy to facilitate motor recovery for patients with chronic upper extremity hemiparesis due
to ischemic stroke. Our working hypothesis is that low-frequency DN-DBS augments excitatory
dentatothalamocortical output, thereby enhancing cerebral cortical excitability, facilitating functional
reorganization in perilesional cortical areas and further supporting motor recovery. Using a rodent model of
ischemia, we have demonstrated that chronic stimulation can facilitate motor recovery and that the
improvements are accompanied by sustained increments in excitability, reorganization of motor
representation, and increased expression of markers of long-term potentiation and synaptogenesis in
perilesional regions of the cerebral cortex. The experiments proposed in the present study will help to ensure
successful human translation of this promising novel treatment while also systematically examining its
mechanistic underpinnings. Specifically, the proposed experiments are designed to determine: a) how the
anatomical extent and distribution of the ischemic core influences both treatment efficacy and carry-over of
benefits; b) how movement-related, synchronized oscillatory activity across deep cerebellar nuclei and
neocortex changes post-stroke and as a result of DN-DBS treatment and whether that activity could serve as
a control signal in a paired-associative (closed-loop) treatment paradigm; c) whether age at the time of infarct
negatively impacts therapeutic efficacy; and d) the anatomical and functional mechanisms underlying DN-
DBS-enhanced motor rehabilitation. These studies will be performed by an investigative team with multiple
long-standing collaborations aimed towards the development of DN-DBS technologies for the treatment of
motor impairments following stroke.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9892037
- **Project number:** 5R01NS105899-03
- **Recipient organization:** CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU
- **Principal Investigator:** KENNETH B BAKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $522,894
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-03-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9892037

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9892037, Cerebellar deep brain stimulation to enhance chronic post-stroke rehabilitation (5R01NS105899-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9892037. Licensed CC0.

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