Cervical Spinal Cord Associative Plasticity
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
Associative plasticity has been used to promote functional recovery from conditions affecting movement. Prior work from the Carmel laboratory has shown that paired associative stimulation protocols timed to converge in the cervical spinal cord induce significantly larger upper limb motor responses than if timed to converge in the motor cortex.
The goal of this prospective experimental study in typically developing adults is to test the effects of pairing sub-threshold hand motor cortical and median nerve stimulation targeted to induce plasticity in the cervical spinal cord, rather than in the motor cortex. Based on preliminary data, the investigators are performing a confirmatory study to test the physiological and behavioral effects of the paired brain and peripheral nerve protocol, called the SCAP-Nerve protocol.
This study will first be conducted in typically developing adults to confirm the cervical spinal cord as the ideal target and verify the present stimulation parameters are sufficient to promote induction of associative plasticity of sensorimotor connections for manual dexterity. The outcomes from this study could then be translated to efficacy studies in people with spinal cord injury and cerebral palsy to promote clinically meaningful improvements in dexterity.
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
Inclusion Criteria
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
How Is the Trial Designed?
4
Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
With this session, participants will receive 90 trials of 0.1hz paired motor cortical stimulation and median nerve stimulation for 15 minutes at sub-threshold intensities, timed to converge in the cervical spinal cord simultaneously.
With this session, participants will receive 90 trials of 0.1hz median nerve stimulation for 15 minutes at sub-threshold intensities.
With this session, participants will receive 90 trials of 0.1hz motor cortical stimulation for 15 minutes at sub-threshold intensities.
With this session, participants will receive 90 trials of 0.1hz paired motor cortical stimulation and median nerve stimulation for 15 minutes at sub-threshold intensities, timed to be 40 milliseconds apart in the cervical spinal cord.
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Columbia University
Lead Sponsor
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