Neuromodulation Therapies for Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with high disability and death rates worldwide. Medically refractory patients could turn to neuromodulation therapies. Yet there were no essays focused on this review. This essay introduces two main neuromodulation theories, including their treatment principles and therapeutic effects. The mentioned theories were vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). VNS was proved to have a good performance in improving the consciousness of severe patients at the TBI early stage. It could also help reduce secondary brain injuries. While clinical research on DBS also proves a significant advantage in the recovery of minimally conscious state (MCS) patients, especially in the prolonged disorder of conscientiousness (DOC) patients. DBS also proves to be effective in improving the arousal mechanism of cognitive and motor function of re-waken patients, especially combined with rehabilitation treatments. The patient scenarios of these two neuromodulation methods were discussed, as were the advantages and limitations.