Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord is a promising approach for the treatment of motor network disorders. Yet its mechanisms and full therapeutic potential remain to be determined. We have shown that EES primarily recruits sensory afferents with segmental specificity at the level of the spinal cord.

This signifies the intriguing possibility that activation of ascending spinal projections can modulate supraspinal networks with somatotopic specificity.

In this project, we will investigate whether segment-specific EES can differentially modulate somatotopic subcircuits in motor networks, and thus optimize treatment effects in animal models of Parkinson’s disease and stroke.