Re-expression of Locomotor Function After Partial Spinal Cord Injury

Physiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rossignol ◽  
G. Barrière ◽  
O. Alluin ◽  
A. Frigon

After a complete spinal section, quadruped mammals (cats, rats, and mice) can generally regain hindlimb locomotion on a treadmill because the spinal cord below the lesion can express locomotion through a neural circuitry termed the central pattern generator (CPG). In this review, we propose that the spinal CPG also plays a crucial role in the locomotor recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zacnicte May ◽  
Keith K. Fenrich ◽  
Julia Dahlby ◽  
Nicholas J. Batty ◽  
Abel Torres-Espín ◽  
...  

The reticulospinal tract (RtST) descends from the reticular formation and terminates in the spinal cord. The RtST drives the initiation of locomotion and postural control. RtST axons form new contacts with propriospinal interneurons (PrINs) after incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI); however, it is unclear if injured or uninjured axons make these connections. We completely transected all traced RtST axons in rats using a staggered model, where a hemisection SCI at vertebra T10 is followed by a contralateral hemisection at vertebra T7. In one group of the animals, the T7 SCI was performed 2 weeks after the T10 SCI (delayed; dSTAG), and in another group, the T10 and T7 SCIs were concomitant (cSTAG). dSTAG animals had significantly more RtST-PrIN contacts in the grey matter compared to cSTAG animals (p<0.05). These results were accompanied by enhanced locomotor recovery with dSTAG animals significantly outperforming cSTAG animals (BBB test;p<0.05). This difference suggests that activity in neuronal networks below the first SCI may contribute to enhanced recovery, because dSTAG rats recovered locomotor ability before the second hemisection. In conclusion, our findings support the hypothesis that the injured RtST forms new connections and is a key player in the recovery of locomotion post-SCI.


Spinal Cord ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 522-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Gregory ◽  
M G Bowden ◽  
A Jayaraman ◽  
P Shah ◽  
A Behrman ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (43) ◽  
pp. 8292-8305
Author(s):  
Anne K. Engmann ◽  
Flavio Bizzozzero ◽  
Marc P. Schneider ◽  
Dario Pfyffer ◽  
Stefan Imobersteg ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Akbar Hojjati Najafabadi ◽  
Saeid Amini ◽  
Farzam Farahmand

The majority of the people with incomplete spinal cord injury lose their walking ability, due to the weakness of their muscle motors in providing torque. As a result, developing assistive devices to improve their conditionis of great importance. In this study, a combined application of the saddle-assistive device (S-AD) and mechanical medial linkage or thosis was evaluated to improve the walking ability in patients with spinal cord injury in the gait laboratory. This mobile assistive device is called the saddle-assistive device equipped with medial linkage or thosis (S-ADEM). In this device, a mechanical orthosis was used in a wheeled walker as previously done in the literature. Initially, for evaluation of the proposed assistive device, the experimental results related to the forces and torques exerted on the feet and upper limbs of a person with the incomplete Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) during walking usingthe standard walker were compared with an those obtained from using the S-ADEM on an able-bodied subject. It was found that using this combination of assistive devices decreases the vertical force and torque on the foot at the time of walking by 53% and 48%, respectively compared to a standard walker. Moreover, the hand-reaction force on the upper limb was negligible instanding and walking positions usingthe introduced device. The findings of this study revealed that the walking ability of the patients with incomplete SCI was improved using the proposed device, which is due to the bodyweight support and the motion technology used in it.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1357034X2110256
Author(s):  
Denisa Butnaru

Motility impairments resulting from spinal cord injuries and cerebrovascular accidents are increasingly prevalent in society, leading to the growing development of rehabilitative robotic technologies, among them exoskeletons. This article outlines how bodies with neurological conditions such as spinal cord injury and stroke engage in processes of re-appropriation while using exoskeletons and some of the challenges they face. The main task of exoskeletons in rehabilitative environments is either to rehabilitate or ameliorate anatomic functions of impaired bodies. In these complex processes, they also play a crucial role in recasting specific corporeal phenomenologies. For the accomplishment of these forms of corporeal re-appropriation, the role of experts is crucial. This article explores how categories such as bodily resistance, techno-inter-corporeal co-production of bodies and machines, as well as body work mark the landscape of these contemporary forms of impaired corporeality. While defending corporeal extension rather than incorporation, I argue against the figure of the ‘cyborg’ and posit the idea of ‘residual subjectivity’.


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