Abstract
Roy RR, Harkema SJ, Edgerton VR. Basic concepts of activity-based interventions for
improved recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition that affects a large number of
individuals. Historically, the recovery process after an SCI has been slow and with
limited success. Recently, a number of advances have been made in the strategies used
for rehabilitation, resulting in marked improved recovery, even after a complete SCI.
Several rehabilitative interventions, that is, assisted motor training, spinal cord
epidural stimulation, and/or administration of pharmacologic agents, alone or in combination,
have produced remarkable recovery in motor function in both humans and animals. The
success with each of these interventions appears to be related to the fact that the
spinal cord is smart, in that it can use ensembles of sensory information to generate
appropriate motor responses without input from supraspinal centers, a property commonly
referred to as central pattern generation. This ability of the spinal cord reflects
a level of automaticity, that is, the ability of the neural circuitry of the spinal
cord to interpret complex sensory information and to make appropriate decisions to
generate successful postural and locomotor tasks. Herein, we provide a brief review
of some of the neurophysiologic rationale for the success of these interventions.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
CPG (central pattern generation), EMG (electromyogram), SCI (spinal cord injury)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
The NeuroRecovery Network (NRN) and all associated projects are supported by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF) (grant/cooperative agreement no. U10.CCU220379) between CDRF and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
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© 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
