Synchronization of Motorcortical Neurons after Spinal Cord Injury

The impact of spinal cord injury (SCI) on potential functional reorganization in neuronal populations in motor cortical areas remains unknown, though its influence on functional recovery may be significant. By applying neuroXidence, a non-parametric and computationally efficient method, on the cortical neuronal data simultaneously recorded from a monkey while it was trained to walk bipedally on a treadmill after spinal cord injury, we analyzed the patterns of potential neural plasticity induced by a therapy during functional recovery. Accurate spike synchronization occurred in relation to phasic movements of the leg during bipedal walking. The intensity of the synchronization increased as the functional recovery proceeded. Our results indicate that the observed significant changes in neuronal activity patterns in the motor cortex, although preliminary, suggest that the patterns of functional reorganization (neural plasticity) in motor areas of the cortex correlate and contribute to the functional recovery.