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Spinal control of locomotion before and after spinal cord injury
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Spinal control of locomotion before and after spinal cord injury

Simon M. Danner, Courtney T. Shepard, Casey Hainline, Natalia A. Shevtsova, Ilya A. Rybak and David S.K. Magnuson
Experimental neurology, 114496
25 Jul 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114496
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114496View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Contusion Hemisection Interlimb coordination Locomotion Long propriospinal neurons Spinal cord injury Spinal locomotor circuitry
Thoracic spinal cord injury affects long propriospinal neurons that interconnect the cervical and lumbar enlargements. These neurons are crucial for coordinating forelimb and hindlimb locomotor movements in a speed-dependent manner. However, recovery from spinal cord injury is usually studied over a very limited range of speeds that may not fully expose circuitry dysfunction. To overcome this limitation, we investigated overground locomotion in rats trained to move over an extended distance with a wide range of speeds both pre-injury and after recovery from thoracic hemisection or contusion injuries. In this experimental context, intact rats expressed a speed-dependent continuum of alternating (walk and trot) and non-alternating (canter, gallop, half-bound gallop, and bound) gaits. After a lateral hemisection injury, rats recovered the ability to locomote over a wide range of speeds but lost the ability to use the highest-speed gaits (half-bound gallop and bound) and predominantly used the limb contralateral to the injury as lead during canter and gallop. A moderate contusion injury caused a greater reduction in maximal speed, loss of all non-alternating gaits, and emergence of novel alternating gaits. These changes resulted from weak fore–hind coupling together with appropriate control of left–right alternation. After hemisection, animals expressed a subset of intact gaits with appropriate interlimb coordination even on the side of the injury, where the long propriospinal connections were severed. These observations highlight how investigating locomotion over the full range of speeds can reveal otherwise hidden aspects of spinal locomotor control and post-injury recovery. [Display omitted] •Intact rats express a continuum of gaits in a speed-dependent manner.•Hemisection injury results in the expression of a subset of pre-injury gaits.•Contusion injury results in a reduced speed and the loss of non-alternating gaits.•Contusion injury results in the expression of new alternating gaits.•Analysis of a wide range of speed reveals otherwise hidden locomotor deficits.

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18 Record Views
10 citations in Web of Science
8 citations in Scopus

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Neurosciences
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