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Talks and Poster Presentations (without Proceedings-Entry):

S. M. Danner, M. Dimitrijevic:
"Segmental and plurisegmental processing capabilities of the human lumbar cord isolated from brain motor control";
Talk: 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting of ISCoS, Istanbul, Turkey; 2013-10-28 - 2013-10-30.



English abstract:
The spinal cord is a relatively simple structure with long white-matter ascending and descending tracts with gray-matter neural networks in its center. However, the human lumbar spinal cord is more than a relay system carrying impulses between brain motor structures and spinal motor nuclei. Its role in motor performance within an integrated nervous system can be seen as that of a common final network, involved in the execution of control over reflex and volitional activity as well as posture and gait. In fact, the lumbar spinal cord has a large population of interneurons which form neural circuits, their functional organization is flexible, giving it a multifunctional character that can provide modulator actions, reconfiguration and flexible operation. Thus, the lumbar spinal cord can be considered to be a "spinal brain," providing another perspective from which to understanding its role in motor control.
This is a human neurophysiological study in 11 adults with separation of lumbar cord from brain input by accidental, traumatic spinal cord injury. By applying sustained epidural stimulation of posterior lumbar roots with different frequencies and strengths synchronously to all five lumbar segments it was possible to examine segmental and plurisegmental processing capabilities of sustained and rhythmical motor outputs. The main message by presenting this results of "a by accident tailored human model" is the demonstration that motor outputs depend from the frequency of sustained lumbar cord input. This will be followed by the discussion on possible mechanisms underlying this finding and their significance for neurocontrol of posture and gait. Furthermore, we shall outline how such neurophysiological neurocontrol features can be of value for planning, monitoring and evaluation of neurophysiological repair procedures.

Created from the Publication Database of the Vienna University of Technology.