Contractile properties of rat soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles were studied 1 year after complete thoracic spinal cord transection (spinal cord level T9). Force-generating capacity and contraction speed were unchanged in the extensor digitorum longus 1 year after transection. However, the rate of contraction and relaxation increased in the soleus as reflected by a decrease in time-t...

The objective of this study was to determine the bioelectric activity of the spinal muscles on both sides of the primary curvature, both statically (in a habitual posture) and dynamically (in an active attempt to correct the curvature). The study comprised two groups: one group of 110 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 (mean age 11.5 ± 3.0) with clinical symptoms of scoliosis (as per Cobb) a...

The innervation of the puborectalis and external anal sphincter muscles was studied in 32 patients with idiopathic (neurogenic) faecal incontinence, 12 of whom also had complete rectal prolapse, using transcutaneous spinal stimulation, transrectal pudendal nerve stimulation, single fibre EMG, anorectal manometry, and measurement of perineal descent. Fourteen normal subjects served as controls. ...

In this study we investigated the ability of sensory input to produce tonic responses in hindlimb muscles to facilitate standing in adult spinal rats and tested two hypotheses: 1) whether the spinal neural networks below a complete spinal cord transection can produce tonic reactions by activating different sensory inputs and 2) whether facilitation of tonic and rhythmic responses via activation...

BACKGROUND Unusual presentations of multiple sclerosis (MS) at onset may post a diagnostic dilemma to the treating neurologists. Spinal myoclonus is rare in MS and may lead to perform extensive investigations to rule out other etiologies affecting the spinal cord. CASE PRESENTATION We described a 31-year-old male who presented with involuntary brief jerky movements of the left shoulder and ar...

Advances in the study of human spinal cord neurophysiology have been strongly based on the analysis of the electrical activity of muscles (electromyogram EMG). The EMG measured over the skin reflects the general behavior of motor units (MUs) and hence of spinal moto‐ neurons (MNs). It can be used, for instance, to infer changes in the behavior of neuronal circuits within the spinal cord during ...

Cervical spinal pain, also will be referred to as cervical spinal hyperesthesia (CSH), is an abnormal clinical sign commonly associated with compressive or inflammatory diseases of the cervical spinal region. Hyperesthesia denotes an unpleasant behavioral response to a nonnoxious stimulus. As part of a routine neurologic examination, spinal hyperesthesia is evaluated by deep palpation of the sp...

OBJECTIVE Responses to afferent input during locomotion are organized at the spinal level but modulated by supraspinal centers. The study aim was to examine whether supraspinal influences affect the behavior of complex electromyographic (EMG) responses to single limb perturbations during walking. METHODS Subjects with motor-complete (MCSCI), motor-incomplete spinal cord injury (MISCI), and no...

The aim of this study was to produce a dynamic model of the spatiotemporal activation of ensembles of alpha motoneurons (MNs) in the cat lumbosacral spinal cord during the locomotor step cycle. The coordinates of MNs of 27 hindlimb muscles of the cat were digitized from transverse sections of spinal cord spanning the entire lumbosacral enlargement from the caudal part of L(4) to the rostral par...

The innervation of the puborectalis and external anal sphincter muscles was studied in 32 patients with idiopathic (neurogenic) faecal incontinence, 12 of whom also had complete rectal prolapse, using transcutaneous spinal stimulation, transrectal pudendal nerve stimulation, single fibre EMG, anorectal manometry, and measurement of perineal descent. Fourteen normal subjects served as controls. ...