POTENTIATION OF CORTICO-SPINAL OUTPUT VIA TARGETED ELECTRICAL STIMULATION OF THE MOTOR THALAMUS.

ABSTRACT: Cerebral white matter lesions prevent cortico-spinal descending inputs from effectively activating spinal motoneurons, leading to loss of motor control. However, in most cases, the damage to cortico-spinal axons is incomplete offering a potential target for new therapies aimed at improving volitional muscle activation. Here we hypothesized that, by engaging direct excitatory connections to cortico-spinal motoneurons, stimulation of the motor thalamus could facilitate activation of surviving cortico-spinal fibers thereby potentiating motor output. To test this hypothesis, we identified optimal thalamic targets and stimulation parameters that enhanced upper-limb motor evoked potentials and grip forces in anesthetized monkeys. This potentiation persisted after white matter lesions. We replica

SUBMITTER: Ho JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10029067 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature