AUTHOR=Chandrasekaran Santosh , Bhagat Nikunj A. , Ramdeo Richard , Ebrahimi Sadegh , Sharma Pawan D. , Griffin Doug G. , Stein Adam , Harkema Susan J. , Bouton Chad E. TITLE=Targeted transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation promotes persistent recovery of upper limb strength and tactile sensation in spinal cord injury: a pilot study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience VOLUME=17 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1210328 DOI=10.3389/fnins.2023.1210328 ISSN=1662-453X ABSTRACT=

Long-term recovery of limb function is a significant unmet need in people with paralysis. Neuromodulation of the spinal cord through epidural stimulation, when paired with intense activity-based training, has shown promising results toward restoring volitional limb control in people with spinal cord injury. Non-invasive neuromodulation of the cervical spinal cord using transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) has shown similar improvements in upper-limb motor control rehabilitation. However, the motor and sensory rehabilitative effects of activating specific cervical spinal segments using tSCS have largely remained unexplored. We show in two individuals with motor-complete SCI that targeted stimulation of the cervical spinal cord resulted in up to a 1,136% increase in exerted force, with weekly activity-based training. Furthermore, this is the first study to document up to a 2-point improvement in clinical assessment of tactile sensation in SCI after receiving tSCS. Lastly, participant gains persisted after a one-month period void of stimulation, suggesting that targeted tSCS may lead to persistent recovery of motor and sensory function.