# Muscle power training to improve depression and walking post-stroke

> **NIH NIH R01** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $416,649

## Abstract

Abstract
Depression is the most common neuropsychiatric manifestation following stroke and current treatments are
largely ineffective. Depression has both direct and indirect effects on response to rehabilitation, thus subjects
with post-stroke depression (PSD) are routinely excluded from clinical trials and treatment options are extremely
limited. We propose to determine the impact of a novel, high-intensity resistance training program, Post-stroke
Optimization of Walking using Explosive Resistance (POWER) training, on post-stroke depressive symptoms.
Further, we will determine if depression limits training-induced improvements in muscular and locomotor
function. This project is based on the premise that depression negatively affects the potential for neuroplastic
changes to occur in response to treatment such that rehabilitation may not produce the same adaptations that
it does in non-depressed individuals. We propose that effective treatment for PSD would result in a virtuous
cycle where reducing depression enhances neuroplastic changes, thereby facilitating functional gains. That is,
effectively treating depression will make the individual better able to recover from stroke. Furthermore, in
addition to its beneficial effects on depression, POWER training is known to improve post-stroke walking, thus
providing an attractive option for treating depression as well as an established vehicle to study the effects of
PSD on response to rehabilitation. The experiments proposed as part of this project are designed to address
critical questions related to 1) the effects of POWER training on depressive symptoms; 2) the potential for
PSD to limit improvements following training; and 3) the interaction between improvements in depression and
increases in walking function. Successful completion of this project will provide a foundation for larger scale
trials to determine dosing parameters as well as establish therapeutic effectiveness of POWER training on
post-stroke depression as well as identify the mechanisms that may be responsible for the changes that occur
in response to treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9939600
- **Project number:** 5R01HD095137-03
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Chris Gregory
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $416,649
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-13 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9939600

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9939600, Muscle power training to improve depression and walking post-stroke (5R01HD095137-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9939600. Licensed CC0.

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