Transcutaneous stimulation of the cervical spinal cord facilitates motoneuron firing and improves hand-motor function after spinal cord injury.

ABSTRACT: Spinal cord injury (SCI) interrupts signal transmission between the brain and muscles, often leading to permanent motor impairments. Improving hand function is the highest priority for people with tetraplegia. Electrically engaging spinal circuits using spinal cord stimulation has been demonstrated to improve hand function in people with paralysis post-SCI. Here, we used a noninvasive intervention, transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS), to facilitate voluntary hand function after SCI. We used a multi-cathode tSCS array to study recruitment patterns across various upper-limb muscles, including forearm subcompartments, in five neurologically intact (NI) participants and five participants with SCI. Our primary objectives was to use tSCS over the cervical spinal cord to delineate the s

SUBMITTER: Verma N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12331168 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature