Grasping Function After Spinal Cord Injury

Description

The overall goals of this proposal are to examine the contribution of physiological pathways to the control of grasping behaviors after cervical SCI, and to maximize the recovery of grasping by using tailored non-invasive brain stimulation and acoustic startle protocols with motor training. The investigators propose to study two basic grasping behaviors, which are largely used in most daily-life activities: a precision grip and a power grip.

Conditions

Spinal Cord Injury

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Study Overview

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Study Details

Study overview

The overall goals of this proposal are to examine the contribution of physiological pathways to the control of grasping behaviors after cervical SCI, and to maximize the recovery of grasping by using tailored non-invasive brain stimulation and acoustic startle protocols with motor training. The investigators propose to study two basic grasping behaviors, which are largely used in most daily-life activities: a precision grip and a power grip.

Grasping Function After Spinal Cord Injury

Grasping Function After Spinal Cord Injury

Condition
Spinal Cord Injury
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Hines

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL, Hines, Illinois, United States, 60141-3030

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * Male and females between ages 18-85 years
  • * Right handed
  • * Able to complete precision grips with both hands
  • * Able to complete full wrist flexion-extension bilaterally
  • * Male and females between ages 18-85 years
  • * Chronic SCI (\> 1 year post injury)
  • * Spinal Cord injury at C8 or above
  • * Intact or impaired but not absent innervations in dermatomes C6. C7 and C8 during light touch and pin prick stimulus using the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) sensory scores
  • * The ability to produce a visible precision grip force with one hand
  • * Able to perform some small wrist flexion and extension
  • * ASIA A,B,C, or D
  • * Uncontrolled medical problems including pulmonary, cardiovascular or orthopedic disease
  • * Any debilitating disease prior to the SCI that caused exercise intolerance
  • * Premorbid, ongoing major depression or psychosis, altered cognitive status
  • * History of head injury or stroke
  • * Pacemaker
  • * Metal plate in skull
  • * History of seizures
  • * Receiving drugs acting primarily on the central nervous system, which lower the seizure threshold
  • * Pregnant females
  • * Ongoing cord compression or a syrinx in the spinal cord or who suffer from a spinal cord disease such as spinal stenosis, spina bifida, MS, or herniated disk

Ages Eligible for Study

18 Years to 85 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

VA Office of Research and Development,

Monica A Perez, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL

Study Record Dates

2025-12-31