Grant: Project Grant

The spinal cord directly controls all movements of the limbs and trunk. Injury to the spinal cord can lead to a loss of sensation and/or capacity to generate movement, sometimes leading to paralysis. Despite recent progress in restoring walking after spinal cord injury, the movement remains non-functional, meaning that people have difficulty or an inability to maintain balance, turn and step over obstacles. Additionally, treatments are costly, invasive and not available to the vast majority of people with spinal cord injury. Our lack of understanding on the basic principles involved in the recovery of walking after spinal cord injury remains a barrier in developing strategies for rehabilitation. In this project, we will develop a feline model of spinal cord injury at the cervical level, the most frequent site of injury in humans, to gain insight into the structures and pathways within the nervous system involved in the recovery of walking.