Reflex Regulation of Motor function in Human SCI

本研究的目的是确定解痉剂对反射功能的抑制如何影响 不完全性脊髓损伤（SCI）患者的意志运动。痉挛性反射通常被治疗 使用药物或其他治疗方法，而没有很好地了解随后的 反射功能的变化影响意志运动，包括步态。这项研究旨在提高我们的 了解反射如何影响功能性运动以及口服药物对反射的影响 不完全SCI患者的运动调节。我们将测试两种常用处方的效果 解痉口服药物巴氯芬和替扎尼定对意志性肌肉活动的反射调节， 步态我们认为，反射兴奋有助于产生肌肉活动在意志任务， 解痉剂将抑制反射并减少步态期间腿部的肌肉活动。的比较 反射对意志运动的影响，包括步态，以及对抗痉挛剂的敏感性， 更好地了解不同类型的不完全SCI患者如何利用反射激活， 肌肉，以促进运动。我们预计，更弱的受试者可能严重依赖于 在运动过程中产生肌肉活动的反射，并可能受到 解痉药这项研究对旨在恢复运动的治疗具有重要意义。 用于治疗SCI和痉挛状态，改善运动功能。

The objective of this study is to identify how the suppression of reflex function by antispastic agents affects volitional movement in people with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Spastic reflexes are commonly treated using medications or other therapeutic approaches without a good understanding of how the subsequent changes in reflex function affect volitional movements, including gait. This study aims to improve our understanding of how reflexes affect functional movements and the impact that oral medications have on reflex regulation of movement in people with incomplete SCI. We will test the effect of two commonly prescribed antispastic oral medications, baclofen and tizanidine, on the reflex regulation of volitional muscle activity and gait. We expect that reflex excitation contributes to the generation of muscle activity during volitional tasks, and antispastic agents will depress reflexes and reduce muscle activity of the legs during gait. A comparison of the effects of reflexes on volitional movements, including gait, and sensitivity to antispastic agents will be made to gain an improved understanding of how different types of incomplete SCI patients utilize reflex activation of muscles to facilitate movement. We anticipate that subjects with greater weakness might rely heavily on reflexes for the generation of muscle activity during movement, and could be detrimentally affected by antispastic medications. This study has important implications for therapies aimed at restoring movement in SCI and for the treatment of spasticity to improve functional movements.