Faculty Collaboration Database

The intralimb coordination of the flexor reflex response is altered in chronic human spinal cord injury. Neurosci Lett 2005 Jun 03;380(3):305-10

Date

05/03/2005

Pubmed ID

15862907

DOI

10.1016/j.neulet.2005.01.060

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-18144395834 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   15 Citations

Abstract

The current study compared the intralimb coordination of flexor reflex responses in spinal intact and complete chronic spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals. Noxious electrocutaneous stimulation was applied at the apex of the medial arch of the foot (50 mA, 500 Hz, 1 ms pulse width, 20 ms) in 21 complete chronic SCI and 19 spinal intact volunteers and the flexor reflex response was quantified by measuring the isometric joint torques at the ankle, knee and hip. The results showed that SCI individuals had significantly smaller peak knee and hip joint flexion torques, often exhibited a net knee extension torque, and produced a much smaller hip joint flexion torque during the flexor reflex response in contrast to the spinal intact individuals. The latency of the reflex response, measured from the tibialis anterior electromyogram, was comparable in both test populations. These findings indicate that the intralimb coordination of the flexor reflex response of chronic complete SCI individuals is altered, possibly reflecting a functional reorganization of the flexion pathways of the spinal cord.

Author List

Deutsch KM, Hornby TG, Schmit BD

Author

Brian Schmit PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Chronic Disease
Electromyography
Humans
Joints
Leg
Movement Disorders
Muscle Contraction
Muscle, Skeletal
Neural Pathways
Neuronal Plasticity
Reaction Time
Reflex, Abnormal
Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord Injuries
Torque