FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF CERVICAL SPINAL INTERNEURONS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Research focused on three projects during this year. 1. The control of motoneurons by short propriospinal neurons in the primate. Data analysis was completed and a manuscript is in final preparation for submission to the Journal of Neuroscience. The main conclusion from this study is that many that neurons in the C3-C4 spinal segments have extensive activity related to arm movements. 2. The directional tuning of neurons in motor cortex for hand movements. Data was collected from two monkeys during performance of a multi-dimensional hand task. Many neurons are directionally tuned and the results, which is currently being analyzed, will be compared to those from spinal interneurons recorded during the same tasks. This comparison will elucidate the relative roles played by motor cortex and spinal cord in generating signals to control forearm muscles. 3. Movements evoked by intraspinal stimulation. We have initiated a new direction in the project that will determine the feasibility of developing neuroprosthetics that employ spinal stimulation to produce functional movements. We completed an initial study that identified sites from which particular hand and arm movements can be elicited with intraspinal microstimulation. These experiments demonstrated that many movements, particularly grasping of the hand, can be produced by stimulation at single sites in the cervical cord.