Grant: Operating Grant

The detailed patterns and sequences of leg muscle activity during walking, standing and stabilizing the body are generated by centres in the spinal cord that are activated by commands from the brain. Movements such as walking are often impaired after spinal cord injury because the brain is no longer able to activate the spinal centres that in many cases remain undamaged. One huge obstacle to repairing spinal cord injuries is our poor understanding of how spinal cord centres controlling muscles function. It is very difficult to repair a system without an instruction manual or an understanding of how it works! My research is designed to learn how the healthy spinal cord produces complex movements. I am investigating how neurons in the spinal cord are inter-connected and how they work together. In essence, we are creating a wiring diagram of spinal neuronal networks and the systems that control them. This knowledge is essential to understanding how information from the brain and sensory information from the legs are brought together to produce safe and stable walking. These investigations are important for guiding future transplantation and stem cell therapies to restore function in damaged spinal cord pathways. By understanding the most critical features of spinal cord organization, we can identify the best targets for biological interventions to restore function.