• Katsunori Shijo, Yoichi Katayama, Akiko Yamashita, Kazutaka Kobayashi, Hideki Oshima, Chikashi Fukaya, and Takamitsu Yamamoto.
• Department of Neurological Surgery, Nihon University School of Medicine and Division of Applied System Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.
• Neuromodulation. 2008 Jul 1;11(3):187-95.

AbstractObjectives.  Motor cortex stimulation has been used as a treatment for intractable pain. However, the mechanisms underlying its effects remain unclear. In this study, neuroplasticity induced by chronic sensorimotor cortex stimulation was investigated experimentally on the basis of c-Fos expression. Materials and Methods.  The experimental animals employed were adult male Wistar rats. A quadripolar stimulation electrode was positioned over the sensorimotor cortex. We examined the neural activation in response to chronic stimulation using c-Fos immunopositivity. Results.  The results are as follows: 1) c-Fos was significantly expressed immediately after the stimulation compared with that in the control; 2) c-Fos expression became extensive over the various regions with an increase in stimulation duration; and 3) after two months of stimulation, c-Fos was expressed not only on the stimulation side, but also within the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. Conclusions.  Changes in c-Fos expression induced by long-term stimulation indicate the existence of a time-dependent neural plasticity.© 2008 International Neuromodulation Society.

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