PROJECT: JTC2016: CERMOD

We will develop a “bottom to top” approach employing animal models and human testing to determine whether or not non-invasive neuromodulation of the cervical spinal cord can facilitate functional recovery of the arm and hand, by enhancing transmission along the residual brain-to-spinal connectome. The proposal follows a multi-disciplinary and translational approach and is divided in 4 working packages (WP). WP1; Identify the best stimulation parameter to facilitate reaching and grasping recovery in cervical contused rats and identify the cervical spinal neurons involved in this motor task. WP2; Use transgenic mice to study the relationship between the plasticity of the spinal inhibitory system and the recovery inflicted by the electrical stimulation. WP3; Evaluate and optimize in non-human primates the acute and long term facilitation or inhibition within the CNS connectivity inflicted after delivering current to the spinal cord. WP4; Implement a recently technology developed at US to deliver painless non-invasive transcutaneous stimulation of the spinal cord, by applying the stimulation parameters which have shown to activate the human lumbar spinal networks. We will optimize the stimulation parameters using as a reference the results obtained in the animal model studies. The results will be presented in international meetings and published in high impact peer reviewed journals.