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Skip to Search Results- 20Spinal cord injury
- 9Walking
- 5Feedback
- 4Functional electrical stimulation
- 2Balance
- 2Corticospinal tract
- 1Alvarado, Laura
- 1Bamford, Jeremy, Andrew
- 1Bergquist, Austin J
- 1Cheng,Cheng
- 1Clair, Joanna
- 1Clarke, Alix, K
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Motor unit recruitment by intraspinal microstimulation and long-term neuromuscular adaptations
DownloadFall 2009
Spinal cord injury is a devastating neurological disorder partially characterized by a loss of motor function below the lesion. The dramatic loss of activity results in muscle atrophy and slow-to-fast transformation of contractile elements, producing smaller, weaker and more fatiguable muscles....
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Associative plasticity and afferent regulation of corticospinal excitability in uninjured individuals and after incomplete spinal cord injury
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Cortical representations are plastic and are allocated based on the proportional use or disuse of a pathway. A steady stream of sensory input maintains the integrity of cortical networks; while in contrast, alterations in afferent activation promote sensorimotor reorganization. After an...
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Investigation of intermittent electrical stimulation as a potential prophylaxis against the formation of deep pressure ulcers after spinal cord injury
DownloadFall 2009
Deep tissue injury (DTI) is a severe form of pressure ulcers resulting from ischemia and mechanical damage due to unrelieved pressure. Despite many preventative methods, none so far has significantly reduced the incidence of DTI. The use of a novel method of pressure ulcer prevention,...
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Walking adaptation, training and assessment in young children and individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury
DownloadFall 2010
This thesis includes four projects that examine motor learning and assess novel approaches for the training and evaluation of walking. In Project 1 we study motor adaptation in children aged 8-36 months using a split-belt treadmill. Split-belt walking, in which one leg moves faster than the...
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Fall 2010
Brainstem derived serotonin (5-HT) normally facilitates spinal motoneuron excitability and inhibits sensory afferent transmission and associated spinal reflexes. Because the 5-HT innervation of the spinal cord is almost exclusively derived from brainstem neurons, spinal cord injury leads to an...
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External sensors for the feedback control of functional electrical stimulation assisted walking
DownloadFall 2010
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a rehabilitative technology that can be used to improve walking in individuals with mobility impairments due to neurologic injury or disease. Feedback is essential for efficient FES-assisted walking. The overall goal of my project was to investigate...
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Spring 2010
Maintaining balance is controlled by two different processes: feedforward and feedback control. Feed-forward control is used prior to performing voluntary movements whereas feedback control is used to correct for unexpected perturbations. Studies suggested that age-related changes in postural...
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Fall 2010
In this thesis sensorimotor integration in the human spinal cord was investigated in the intact (Chapters 2 and 3) and injured nervous systems (Chapter 4-stroke; Chapter 5-spinal cord injury (SCI)). In Chapter 2, I characterized a short-latency reflex pathway between sensory receptors of the...
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Spring 2010
Neural prostheses (NPs) are electronic stimulators that activate nerves to restore sensory or motor functions. Surface NPs are non-invasive and inexpensive, but are often poorly selective, activating non-targeted muscles and cutaneous sensory nerves that can cause pain or discomfort. Implanted...
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The role fo the adrenergic system in the recovery of motoneuron excitability and spasms after spinal cord injury
DownloadSpring 2011
Brainstem derived noradrenaline (NA) in the spinal cord functions both to increase motoneuron excitability, by facilitating calcium-mediated persistent inward currents (Ca PICs), and to inhibit sensory afferent transmission to motoneurons (excitatory postsynaptic potentials; EPSPs). Spinal cord...