Six spinal cord injured (SCI) patients were trained to step on a treadmill with body-weight support for 1.5-3 months. At the end of training, foot motion recovered the shape and the step-by-step reproducibility that characterize normal gait. They were then asked to step backward on the treadmill belt that moved in the opposite direction relative to standard forward training. In contrast to healthy subjects, who can immediately reverse the direction of walking by time-reversing the kinematic waveforms, patients were unable to step backward. Similarly patients were unable to perform another untrained locomotor task, namely stepping in place on the idle treadmill. Two patients who were trained to step backward for 2-3 weeks were able to develop control of foot motion appropriate for this task. The results show that locomotor improvement does not transfer to untrained tasks, thus supporting the idea of task-dependent plasticity in human locomotor networks.

Grasso, R., Ivanenko, Y.p., Zago, M., Molinari, M., Scivoletto, G., Lacquaniti, F. (2004). Recovery of forward steeping in spinal cord injured patients does not transfer to untrained backward stepping. EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH, 157(3), 377-382 [10.1007/s00221-004-1973-3].

Recovery of forward steeping in spinal cord injured patients does not transfer to untrained backward stepping

Zago M.;LACQUANITI, FRANCESCO
2004-01-01

Abstract

Six spinal cord injured (SCI) patients were trained to step on a treadmill with body-weight support for 1.5-3 months. At the end of training, foot motion recovered the shape and the step-by-step reproducibility that characterize normal gait. They were then asked to step backward on the treadmill belt that moved in the opposite direction relative to standard forward training. In contrast to healthy subjects, who can immediately reverse the direction of walking by time-reversing the kinematic waveforms, patients were unable to step backward. Similarly patients were unable to perform another untrained locomotor task, namely stepping in place on the idle treadmill. Two patients who were trained to step backward for 2-3 weeks were able to develop control of foot motion appropriate for this task. The results show that locomotor improvement does not transfer to untrained tasks, thus supporting the idea of task-dependent plasticity in human locomotor networks.
2004
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Sì, ma tipo non specificato
Settore BIO/09 - FISIOLOGIA
English
Central pattern generator; Human locomotion; Laufband therapy; Motor learning; Spinal cord injury
Grasso, R., Ivanenko, Y.p., Zago, M., Molinari, M., Scivoletto, G., Lacquaniti, F. (2004). Recovery of forward steeping in spinal cord injured patients does not transfer to untrained backward stepping. EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH, 157(3), 377-382 [10.1007/s00221-004-1973-3].
Grasso, R; Ivanenko, Yp; Zago, M; Molinari, M; Scivoletto, G; Lacquaniti, F
Articolo su rivista
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/31212
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 47
social impact