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Silverman JD, Balbinot G, Masani K, Zariffa J, Eng P. Validity and Reliability of Surface Electromyography Features in Lower Extremity Muscle Contraction in Healthy and Spinal Cord-Injured Participants. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil 2021; 27:14-27. [PMID: 34866885 DOI: 10.46292/sci20-00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has a significant impact on motor control and active force generation. Quantifying muscle activation following SCI may help indicate the degree of motor impairment and predict the efficacy of rehabilitative interventions. In healthy persons, muscle activation is typically quantified by electromyographic (EMG) signal amplitude measures. However, in SCI, these measures may not reflect voluntary effort, and therefore other nonamplitude-based features should be considered. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation of time-domain EMG features with the exerted joint torque (validity) and their test-retest repeatability (reliability), which may contribute to characterizing muscle activation following SCI. Methods: Surface EMG (SEMG) and torque were measured while nine uninjured participants and four participants with SCI performed isometric contractions of tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus (SOL). Data collection was repeated at a subsequent session for comparison across days. Validity and test-retest reliability of features were assessed by Spearman and intraclass correlation (ICC) of linear regression coefficients. Results: In healthy participants, SEMG features correlated well with torque (TA: ρ > 0.92; SOL: ρ > 0.94) and showed high reliability (ICCmean = 0.90; range, 0.72-0.99). In an SCI case series, SEMG features also correlated well with torque (TA: ρ > 0.86; SOL: ρ > 0.86), and time-domain features appeared no less repeatable than amplitude-based measures. Conclusion: Time-domain SEMG features are valid and reliable measures of lower extremity muscle activity in healthy participants and may be valid measures of sublesional muscle activity following SCI. These features could be used to gauge motor impairment and progression of rehabilitative interventions or in controlling assistive technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Daniel Silverman
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gustavo Balbinot
- KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kei Masani
- KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - José Zariffa
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - P Eng
- KITE - Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Brown AR, Martinez M. Chronic inactivation of the contralesional hindlimb motor cortex after thoracic spinal cord hemisection impedes locomotor recovery in the rat. Exp Neurol 2021; 343:113775. [PMID: 34081986 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
After incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), cortical plasticity is involved in hindlimb locomotor recovery. Nevertheless, whether cortical activity is required for motor map plasticity and recovery remains unresolved. Here, we combined a unilateral thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) with a cortical inactivation protocol that uncovered a functional role of contralesional cortical activity in hindlimb recovery and ipsilesional map plasticity. In adult rats, left hindlimb paralysis was induced by sectioning half of the spinal cord at the thoracic level (hemisection) and we used a continuous infusion of muscimol (GABAA agonist, 10 mM, 0.11 µl/h) delivered via implanted osmotic pump (n = 9) to chronically inactivate the contralesional hindlimb motor cortex. Hemisected rats with saline infusion served as a SCI control group (n = 8), and intact rats with muscimol infusion served as an inactivation control group (n = 6). Locomotion was assessed in an open field, on a horizontal ladder, and on a treadmill prior to and for three weeks after hemisection. Cortical inactivation after hemisection significantly impeded hindlimb locomotor recovery in all tasks and specifically disrupted the ability of rats to generate proper flexion of the affected hindlimb during stepping compared to SCI controls, with no significant effect of inactivation in intact rats. Chronic and acute (n = 4) cortical inactivation after hemisection also significantly reduced the representation of the affected hindlimb in the ipsilesional motor cortex derived with intracortical microsimulation (ICMS). Our results provide evidence that residual activity in the contralesional hindlimb motor cortex after thoracic hemisection contributes to spontaneous locomotor recovery and map plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R Brown
- Département de Neurosciences Groupe de recherche sur le système nerveux central (GRSNC) and Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Cerveau au service de l'Apprentissage (CIRCA), Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Marina Martinez
- Département de Neurosciences Groupe de recherche sur le système nerveux central (GRSNC) and Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Cerveau au service de l'Apprentissage (CIRCA), Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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Diogo CC, da Costa LM, Pereira JE, Filipe V, Couto PA, Geuna S, Armada-da-Silva PA, Maurício AC, Varejão ASP. Kinematic and kinetic gait analysis to evaluate functional recovery in thoracic spinal cord injured rats. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 98:18-28. [PMID: 30611796 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The recovery of walking function following spinal cord injury (SCI) is of major importance to patients and clinicians. In experimental SCI studies, a rat model is widely used to assess walking function, following thoracic spinal cord lesion. In an effort to provide a resource which investigators can refer to when seeking the most appropriate functional assay, the authors have compiled and categorized the behavioral assessments used to measure the deficits and recovery of the gait in thoracic SCI rats. These categories include kinematic and kinetic measurements. Within this categorization, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each type of measurement. The present review includes the type of outcome data that they produce, the technical difficulty and the time required to potentially train the animals to perform them, and the need for expensive or highly specialized equipment. The use of multiple kinematic and kinetic parameters is recommended to identify subtle deficits and processes involved in the compensatory mechanisms of walking function after experimental thoracic SCI in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Cardoso Diogo
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
| | - Luís Maltez da Costa
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal; CECAV, Centre for Animal Sciences and Veterinary Studies, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
| | - José Eduardo Pereira
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal; CECAV, Centre for Animal Sciences and Veterinary Studies, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
| | - Vítor Filipe
- Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal; INESC TEC, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200 - 465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro Alexandre Couto
- Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal; CITAB, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
| | - Stefano Geuna
- Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Paulo A Armada-da-Silva
- Faculdade de Motricidade Humana (FMH), Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), Estrada da Costa, 1499-002, Dafundo, Cruz Quebrada, Portugal; CIPER-FMH: Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudo de Performance Humana, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana (FMH), Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), Estrada da Costa, 1499-002, Cruz Quebrada - Dafundo, Portugal
| | - Ana Colette Maurício
- Department of Veterinary Clinics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto (UP), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; Animal Science and Study Centre (CECA), Institute of Sciences, Technologies and Agroenvironment of the University of Porto (ICETA), Rua D. Manuel II, Apartado 55142, 4051-401, Porto, Portugal
| | - Artur S P Varejão
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal; CECAV, Centre for Animal Sciences and Veterinary Studies, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
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