Grant: Project Grant

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-altering event causing paralysis and loss of sensation, but it is the life-time of impaired 'automatic' (autonomic) bodily functions, affecting every aspect of daily living for 80,000, Canadians that have the most devastating effects. Recently, electrical spinal stimulation has emerged as a powerful therapeutic tool for improving functions lost by SCI. Although spinal stimulation was intended to only improve movement, researchers began reporting improvements in functions controlled by spinal regions located far from the site of stimulation such as blood pressure and heart function, temperature regulation and exercise performance. Given that over half of those living with SCI sustain injury at the neck level, means they have reduced, or zero ability to activate these automatic functions, They are also severely compromised in their ability to regulate blood pressure and heart function and are unable to produce the normal exercise responses, limiting their ability to increase health and life quality. Therefore, electrical stimulation can and is now used to not only improve movement after injury but also automatic function. However, we do not know how spinal stimulation targeting movement centre also improves automatic functions, limiting its use for the general public. We recently discovered, for the first time, a direct spinal connection between cells or neurons involved in movement to neurons that control automatic functions. Now, we will systematically examine these connections and design appropriate spinal electrical stimulation strategies that target both motor and automatic functions. These stimulation strategies will then be able to be used to increase overall health of people living with SCI, decrease obesity, increase exercise capacity and normalize blood pressure and heart function.