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MEP Up-conditioning to Target Corticospinal Plasticity
Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina
Summary
Individuals with chronic cervical spinal cord injury will complete a 10-week training protocol where participants receive non-invasive brain stimulation and feedback on the size of the corresponding muscle response (wrist extensor). Investigators will assess the impact of the brain stimulation training on 1) the brain-to-spinal cord-to-muscle connection and 2) motor functions of the arm and hand. Also, brain and spine magnetic resonance imaging will be collected before and after the training. The imaging measurements will tell investigators about how spinal damage, brain function, and brain structure relate to motor presentation and the response to the training.
Official title: Operant Conditioning of the Wrist Extensor Motor Evoked Potential to Target Corticospinal Plasticity and Upper Limb Motor Recovery After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
11
Start Date
2025-05-27
Completion Date
2027-03-31
Last Updated
2026-03-30
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Up-conditioning of the wrist extensor motor evoked potential
At the beginning of each session, EMG recording and nerve stimulating electrodes are placed over the arm. In all sessions, MEPs will be measured while the sitting subject provides a pre-set level of background muscle EMG with joint angles fixed. In 225 control trials of each baseline sessions and the first 20 trials of conditioning sessions the subject will receive no feedback as to MEP size (i.e., control MEPs). In 225 conditioning trials of each conditioning session, the subject will be encouraged to increase the target muscle MEP, and will receive immediate feedback as to whether MEP size was above a criterion (i.e., whether the trial was a success).
Locations (1)
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States