The Mark Pollock Trust, Anatomy Dept., TCBE and TCIN are pleased to announce a lecture entitled Potential of painless cutaneous enabling motor control (pcEmc) in recovery of motor function after paralysis by Professor V Reggie Edgerton, Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, UCLA

It is well known that the sensory input representing the timing and level of loadbearing on the lower limbs is an important source of input to the central nervous system in sustaining postural and locomotor control. The degree to which this source of input is critical, however, continues to be not fully realized. Experiments will be described which demonstrate that after complete paralysis, the return of the experience of bipedal and quadrupedal loadbearing in response to lumbosacral stimulation can be used to restore standing after complete paralysis due to spinal cord injury in humans. Similar results have been achieved in rats, but in addition, full weight-bearing stepping can also be recovered in the presence of spinal epidural stimulation and pharmacological modulation largely involving serotonergic agonists. Finally we have observed that a progressive increase of the level of loadbearing on a daily basis in rats and humans further enhances the level of recovery of standing potential. The mechanisms of the recovery of motor function with these interventions are gradually being formulated from the perspective of how spinal networks can be fine-tuned to facilitate the performance of a wide range of complex motor tasks. This fine tuning can be accomplished using a combination of neuromodulatory interventions, including multiple forms of electrical stimulation, sensory modulation and pharmacological modulation. During the presentation, while the basic physiological concepts underlying the results outlined above are discussed, there will be an emphasis of the bioengineering advances that are needed to perform the critical in vivo experiments in laboratory animals and humans.

The talk will conclude with a Q+A and be followed by a short informal reception in the Deloitte Gallery.

For further information contact njmahony@tcd.ie