Cooperative hand movements in tetraparetic spinal cord injury patients: Preserved neural coupling

This study is based on a newly discovered task-specific ,neural coupling ’ mechanism underlying cooperative hand movements.(Dietz et al. 2015) This neural coupling is reflected in the observation that during cooperative hand movements (e.g. opening a bottle) electromyographic (EMG) reflex responses can task-specifically be induced in activated forearm muscles of both s ides following unilateral arm nerve stimulation. Furthermore, recordings of somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) showed larger ipsilateral potentials during cooperative compared to non-cooperative bimanual hand movements.(Schrafl-Altermatt and Dietz 2014) It is suggested that the contralateral refl exes and the ipsilateral SSEP reflect distinct aspects (i.e.
Source: Clinical Neurophysiology - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: research