Locomotor recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) is influenced by spinal and supraspinal networks. Conventional clinical gait analysis fails to differentiate between these components. There is evidence that corticospinal control is enhanced during targeted walking, where each foot must be continuously placed on visual targets in randomized order. This study investigates the potential of targeted walking in the functional assessment of corticospinal integrity. Twenty-one controls and 16 individuals with chronic iSCI performed normal and targeted walking on a treadmill while electromyograms (EMGs) and kinematics were recorded. Precision (% of accurate foot placements) in targeted walking was significantly lower in individuals with iSCI (82.9±14.7%, controls: 94.9±4.0%). While the overall kinematic pattern was comparable between walking conditions, controls showed significantly higher semitendinosus activity before heel-strike during targeted walking. This was accompanied by a shift of relative EMG intensity from 90-120Hz to lower frequencies of 20-60 Hz, previously associated with corticospinal control of muscle activity. Targeted walking in iSCI individuals evoked smaller EMG changes, suggesting that the switch to more corticospinal control is impaired. Accordingly, mildly impaired iSCI individuals revealed higher adaptations to the targeted walking task than more-impaired individuals. Recording of EMGs during targeted walking holds potential as a research tool to reveal further insights into the neuromuscular control of locomotion. It also complements findings of preclinical studies and is a promising novel surrogate marker of integrity of corticospinal control in individuals with iSCI and other neurological impairments. Future studies should investigate its potential for diagnosis or tracking recovery during rehabilitation.


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    Title :

    Targeted walking in incomplete spinal cord injury: Role of corticospinal control



    Publication date :

    2020-11-01


    Remarks:

    Meyer, Christian; Filli, Linard; Stalder, Stephanie Anja; Awai Easthope, Christopher; Killeen, Tim; von Tscharner, Vinzenz; Curt, Armin; Zörner, Björn; Bolliger, Marc (2020). Targeted walking in incomplete spinal cord injury: Role of corticospinal control. Journal of Neurotrauma, 37(21):2302-2314.



    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    DDC:    629




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