Selective control of hindlimb movements based on intraspinal functional electronic stimulation

Abstract

Functional electronic stimulation (FES) may provide a means to restore motor function in patients with spinal cord injuries. The goal of this study is to determine the regions in the spinal cord controlling different hindlimb movements in the rats. Normalization was used for the regions dominating the corresponding movements. It has been verified that FES can be used in motor function recovery of the hindlimb. The spinal cord was stimulated by FES with a three-dimensional scan mode in experiments. The results show that stimulation through the electrodes implanted in the ventral locations of the lumbosacral enlargement can produce coordinated single- and multi-joint hindlimb movements. A variety of different hindlimb movements can be induced with the appropriate stimulation sites, and movement vectors of the hindlimb cover the full range of movement directions in the sagittal plane of the hindlimb. This article drew a map about spinal cord motor function of the rat. The regions in the spinal cord which control corresponding movements are normalized. The data in the study provide guidance about the location of electrode tips in the follow-up experiments.