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J Neurophysiol (July 9, 2008). doi:10.1152/jn.90321.2008
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Submitted on February 29, 2008
Revised on July 2, 2008
Accepted on July 7, 2008

Locomotor and reflex adaptation after partial denervation of ankle extensors in chronic spinal cats

Alain Frigon1 and Serge Rossignol2*

1 Universite Montr
2 Universite de Montreal

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: serge.rossignol{at}umontreal.ca.

This work investigates the capacity of the spinal cord to generate locomotion after a complete spinal section and its ability to adapt its locomotor pattern after a peripheral nerve lesion. To study this intrinsic adaptive capacity, the left lateral gastrocnemius-soleus (LGS) nerve was sectioned in 3 cats that expressed a stable locomotion following a complete spinal transection. The electromyography (EMG) of multiple hindlimb muscles and reflexes, evoked by stimulating the left tibial (Tib) nerve at the ankle, were recorded before and after denervation during treadmill locomotion. Following denervation, the mean amplitude of EMG bursts of multiple hindlimb muscles increased during locomotion; similar to what is found after an identical denervation in otherwise intact cats. Reflex changes were noted in ipsilateral flexors, such as semitendinosus and tibialis anterior but not in the ipsilateral knee extensor vastus lateralis following denervation. The present results demonstrate that the spinal cord possesses the circuitry necessary to mediate increased EMG activity in multiple hindlimb muscles and also to produce changes in reflex pathways after a muscle denervation. The similarity of changes following a LGS denervation in cats with an intact and transected spinal cord suggests that spinal mechanisms play a major role in the locomotor adaptation.




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A. Frigon, G. Barriere, H. Leblond, and S. Rossignol
Asymmetric Changes in Cutaneous Reflexes After a Partial Spinal Lesion and Retention Following Spinalization During Locomotion in the Cat
J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2009; 102(5): 2667 - 2680.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




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