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Brain-controlled modulation of spinal circuits improves recovery from spinal cord injury
Open accessAbstract
The delivery of brain-controlled neuromodulation therapies during motor rehabilitation may augment recovery from neurological disorders. To test this hypothesis, we conceived a brain-controlled neuromodulation therapy that combines the technical and practical features necessary to be deployed daily during gait rehabilitation. Rats received a severe spinal cord contusion that led to leg paralysis. We engineered a proportional brain–spine interface whereby cortical ensemble activity constantly determines the amplitude of spinal cord stimulation protocols promoting leg flexion during swing. After minimal calibration time and without prior training, this neural bypass enables paralyzed rats to walk overground and adjust foot clearance in order to climb a staircase. Compared to continuous spinal cord stimulation, brain-controlled stimulation accelerates and enhances the long-term recovery of locomotion. These results demonstrate the relevance of brain-controlled neuromodulation therapies to augment recovery from motor disorders, establishing important proofs-of-concept that warrant clinical studies.
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“In preclinical models, neurorehabilitation supported by a digital bridge triggered superior recovery compared to epidural electrical stimulation alone15.”
From Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain–spine interface (2023) · cites this paper as [15]
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Self-citationA brain–spine interface alleviating gait deficits after spinal cord injury in primates
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bonizzato, M., Pidpruzhnykova, G., DiGiovanna, J., Shkorbatova, P., Pavlova, N., Micera, S., & Courtine, G.
- Affiliations
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
- Pavlov Institute of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
- Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (IT)
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Courtine, Grégoire
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2018-08-01
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3015-3015
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6070513
- OpenAlex
- W2882976771
- Cited by
- 149
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 10.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- IRIS (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PolyPublie (École Polytechnique de Montréal) (submittedVersion)
- CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (160696)
- H2020 European Research Council (682999)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Clinical Neurology › Spinal Cord Injury Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Keywords
- spinal cord injury, spinal cord stimulation, locomotor recovery, gait rehabilitation, leg paralysis, overground walking, foot clearance, stair climbing
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Electromyography, Electric Stimulation Therapy, Extremities, Female, Gait, Locomotion, Muscles, Nerve Net, Rats, Inbred Lew, Spinal Cord, Spinal Cord Injuries, Reproducibility of Results, Walking, Recovery of Function
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