Spinal Control of Locomotion: Studies and Applications

描述(申请人提供)：这一生物工程合作伙伴关系汇集了神经科学家和工程师组成的多学科团队，他们在以下领域拥有互补的专业知识：脊髓神经组织(马尼托巴大学David McCrea博士)、生物医学工程和神经肌肉刺激(Drexel大学Michel Lemay博士)、运动生理学和生物力学(佐治亚理工学院Boris Prilutsky博士)以及计算神经科学和神经控制(Drexel大学llya Rybak博士)。该项目的目标是(1)对哺乳动物脊髓中负责运动模式产生和运动控制的神经机制进行全面的多学科研究；(2)寻找脊髓损伤后恢复运动功能的最佳策略。在这个项目中，将建立两个全面的数据库，基于对去大脑猫虚构运动的实验研究，以及对自由活动的未受伤猫和脊髓猫的生物力学研究。这些数据库将用于开发(1)负责产生和控制运动模式的脊髓神经回路的计算模型和(2)猫运动的神经-肌肉-骨骼模型。将制定专门的定量生物力学标准，以评估脊髓猫在实施不同治疗方法恢复运动功能期间和之后的运动能力。所开发的计算模型和生物力学标准将为应用治疗和评估其结果提供指导。将实施和研究基于跑步机上的运动训练和对所选感觉传入的相依性电刺激相结合来恢复运动能力的不同策略。该项目的结果将为脊髓运动控制机制提供重要的见解，并将代表着朝着发展各种脊髓损伤后恢复运动功能的最佳和有效方法的重要一步。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Bioengineering Partnership brings together a multidisciplinary team of neuroscientists and engineers with complementary expertise in neural organization of the spinal cord (Dr. David McCrea, University of Manitoba), biomedical engineering and neuromuscular stimulations (Dr. Michel Lemay, Drexel University), physiology and biomechanics of locomotion (Dr. Boris Prilutsky, Georgia Institute of Technology), and computational neuroscience and neural control (Dr. llya Rybak, Drexel University). The goals of this project are (1) to perform a comprehensive multidisciplinary study of neural mechanisms in the mammalian spinal cord responsible for generation of the locomotor pattern and control of locomotion and (2) to find optimal strategies for restoring locomotor function after spinal cord injuries. In this project, two comprehensive databases will be created based on experimental studies of fictive locomotion in the decerebrate cat and on biomechanical studies of freely moving uninjured cats and spinal cats. These databases will be used for the development of (1) a computational model of neural circuitry of the spinal cord responsible for generation and control of the locomotor pattern and (2) a neuro-musculo-skeletal model of cat's locomotion. Special quantitative biomechanical criteria will be developed for evaluation of locomotor capabilities of spinal cats during and after implementation of different treatments for restoring the locomotor function. The computational models and biomechanical criteria developed will provide guidance for the applied treatments and evaluation of their results. Different strategies for the restoration of locomotor capabilities based on the combination of locomotor training on a treadmill with phase-dependent electrical stimulation of the selected sensory afferents will be implemented and investigated. The results of this project will provide significant insights into spinal mechanisms responsible for control of locomotion and will represent an important step toward the development of optimal and effective methods for restoration of locomotor function after various spinal cord injuries.