Development of a training paradigm for voluntary control of the peri-auricular muscles: a feasibility study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to severe and permanent functional deficits. In humans, peri-auricular muscles (PAMs) do not serve any physiological function, though their innervation is preserved in even high level SCI. Auricular control systems provide a good example of leveraging contemporary technologies (e.g., sEMG controlled computer games) to enable those with disabilities. Our primary objective is to develop and test the effectiveness of an auricular muscle training protocol to facilitate isolated and coordinated, bilateral voluntary control that could be used in individuals without volitional control of the vestigial PAMs.

Methods

Seventeen non-disabled persons were screened; 13 were eligible and 10 completed the entire protocol. The facilitation phase,

SUBMITTER: Chanthaphun S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6570846 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature