TY - JOUR
T1 - Single joint perturbation during gait
T2 - Preserved compensatory response pattern in spinal cord injured subjects
AU - Field-Fote, Edelle C.
AU - Dietz, Volker
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful to Mohd Khan, Reinhard Schreier, and Andres Hurtado for technical support and assistance and to Dr. Marion McGregor for statistical support. This study was supported in part by a NIH contract NO1-NS-3-2351, NIH Grant HD41487, a grant from the Schumann Foundation and by The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2007/7
Y1 - 2007/7
N2 - Objective: Responses to afferent input during locomotion are organized at the spinal level but modulated by supraspinal centers. The study aim was to examine whether supraspinal influences affect the behavior of complex electromyographic (EMG) responses to single limb perturbations during walking. Methods: Subjects with motor-complete (MCSCI), motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (MISCI), and non-disabled (ND) subjects participated. Hip or knee joint trajectory was briefly arrested by a robotic device at early or late swing phase. EMG responses from muscles of both legs were analyzed. Results: Perturbation-induced EMG responses of spinal cord injured and ND individuals were similar in basic structure, with the exception that tibialis anterior onset times were delayed for SCI subjects. Across all groups, perturbations in late swing (i.e., near the swing-to-stance transition) were associated with shorter muscle onset times and higher EMG amplitudes. Knee perturbations were associated with shorter muscle response onset times, while hip perturbations elicited higher response amplitudes. EMG responses were also evoked in muscles contralateral to the perturbation. Conclusions: These data indicate that neuronal circuits within the spinal cord deprived of normal supraspinal input respond to swing phase perturbations in a manner that is similar to that of the intact spinal cord. Significance: The adult human spinal cord is capable of generating complex, phase-appropriate responses much as has been observed in studies of human infants and in spinal animals.
AB - Objective: Responses to afferent input during locomotion are organized at the spinal level but modulated by supraspinal centers. The study aim was to examine whether supraspinal influences affect the behavior of complex electromyographic (EMG) responses to single limb perturbations during walking. Methods: Subjects with motor-complete (MCSCI), motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (MISCI), and non-disabled (ND) subjects participated. Hip or knee joint trajectory was briefly arrested by a robotic device at early or late swing phase. EMG responses from muscles of both legs were analyzed. Results: Perturbation-induced EMG responses of spinal cord injured and ND individuals were similar in basic structure, with the exception that tibialis anterior onset times were delayed for SCI subjects. Across all groups, perturbations in late swing (i.e., near the swing-to-stance transition) were associated with shorter muscle onset times and higher EMG amplitudes. Knee perturbations were associated with shorter muscle response onset times, while hip perturbations elicited higher response amplitudes. EMG responses were also evoked in muscles contralateral to the perturbation. Conclusions: These data indicate that neuronal circuits within the spinal cord deprived of normal supraspinal input respond to swing phase perturbations in a manner that is similar to that of the intact spinal cord. Significance: The adult human spinal cord is capable of generating complex, phase-appropriate responses much as has been observed in studies of human infants and in spinal animals.
KW - Afferent input
KW - Modulation
KW - Spinal reflex
KW - Walking
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U2 - 10.1016/j.clinph.2007.03.022
DO - 10.1016/j.clinph.2007.03.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 17475549
AN - SCOPUS:34249664323
VL - 118
SP - 1607
EP - 1616
JO - Clinical Neurophysiology
JF - Clinical Neurophysiology
SN - 1388-2457
IS - 7
ER -