Spinal cord associative plasticity improves forelimb sensorimotor function after cervical injury

This research explores a new method called spinal cord associative plasticity (SCAP) to improve recovery after spinal cord injury. SCAP involves precisely timed pairing of motor cortex and dorsal spinal cord stimulations. The study found that SCAP strengthens sensorimotor connections in the spinal cord, leading to improved forelimb function and reflex modulation after a moderate spinal cord injury. Since motor cortex and spinal cord stimulation are already used in humans, this approach could potentially be tested in people with spinal cord injury or other conditions that affect sensorimotor skills.

• 1
  Subthreshold spinal cord stimulation significantly enhanced motor cortex evoked muscle potentials when paired synchronously in the spinal cord, demonstrating the importance of timing.
• 2
  The paired stimulation effect relied on both cortical descending motor and spinal cord proprioceptive afferents, as inactivating either pathway eliminated the effect.
• 3
  Rats receiving SCAP showed significantly improved dexterity during food manipulation at 50 days post-injury, indicating a persistent functional improvement.