Electrical neuromodulation of the cervical spinal cord facilitates forelimb skilled function recovery in spinal cord injured rats.

ABSTRACT: Enabling motor control by epidural electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is a promising therapeutic technique for the recovery of motor function after a spinal cord injury (SCI). Although epidural electrical stimulation has resulted in improvement in hindlimb motor function, it is unknown whether it has any therapeutic benefit for improving forelimb fine motor function after a cervical SCI. We tested whether trains of pulses delivered at spinal cord segments C6 and C8 would facilitate the recovery of forelimb fine motor control after a cervical SCI in rats. Rats were trained to reach and grasp sugar pellets. Immediately after a dorsal funiculus crush at C4, the rats showed significant deficits in forelimb fine motor control. The rats were tested to reach and grasp with and without cerv

SUBMITTER: Alam M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6219872 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature