Lecture

Human Neuromodulation: Spinal Cord Activity

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

NX-436: Advanced methods for human neuromodulation

Neuromodulation is an expending field especially in human translational neuroscience and neurotechnology. This course will introduce to different approaches / technologies for neuromodulation, their underlying mechanisms of action and application in humans ...

Description

This lecture covers advanced methods for human neuromodulation, focusing on the spinal cord. It describes neurotechnologies to modulate spinal cord activity, including non-invasive and invasive approaches, open-loop, and closed-loop systems. The lecture also explores clinical applications, such as spinal cord injury, and the physiology of the spinal cord. It delves into the organization of the spinal column, sensory and motor pathways, descending and ascending tracts, and the locomotor system. Additionally, it discusses spinal cord injury mechanisms, time course, and potential treatments. The lecture concludes with the use of non-invasive electrical spinal cord stimulation for rehabilitation and the modulation of motor output through dorsal root afferents.

Instructor

Friedhelm Christoph Hummel

Expertise Stroke recovery Healthy Aging Motor Control Motor Learning Cognitive Control Neuroplasticity Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Structural and functional Neuroimaging Connectivity Postal Address Campus Biotech Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering Brain Mind Institute, SV Neuro X Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology EPFL Campus Biotech Rm H4.3.132.084, 9, Chemin des Mines 1202 Geneva Teaching & PhD PhD Students Maria Ploumitsakou, Simona Losacco, Fabienne Windel, Andrea Protani, Sta

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Anatomy: Neuroanatomy

Related concepts (30)

Neural pathway

In neuroanatomy, a neural pathway is the connection formed by axons that project from neurons to make synapses onto neurons in another location, to enable neurotransmission (the sending of a signal from one region of the nervous system to another). Neurons are connected by a single axon, or by a bundle of axons known as a nerve tract, or fasciculus. Shorter neural pathways are found within grey matter in the brain, whereas longer projections, made up of myelinated axons, constitute white matter.

Reticular formation

The reticular formation is a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem. It is not anatomically well defined, because it includes neurons located in different parts of the brain. The neurons of the reticular formation make up a complex set of networks in the core of the brainstem that extend from the upper part of the midbrain to the lower part of the medulla oblongata. The reticular formation includes ascending pathways to the cortex in the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) and descending pathways to the spinal cord via the reticulospinal tracts.

Dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway

The dorsal column–medial lemniscus pathway (DCML) (also known as the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway, PCML) is a sensory pathway of the central nervous system that conveys sensations of fine touch, vibration, two-point discrimination, and proprioception (body position) from the skin and joints. It transmits information from the body to the primary somatosensory cortex in the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe of the brain.

Sensory neuron

Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded receptor potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are located in the dorsal ganglia of the spinal cord. The sensory information travels on the afferent nerve fibers in a sensory nerve, to the brain via the spinal cord.

Spinal cord

The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spinal cord, which contains cerebrospinal fluid. The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system (CNS). In humans, the spinal cord begins at the occipital bone, passing through the foramen magnum and then enters the spinal canal at the beginning of the cervical vertebrae.

Related lectures (60)

Motor Neuron Diseases: Pathophysiology & Therapies

Explores the motor system, motor neuron diseases, control of movements, and spinal cord organization.

Neural Control of Movement: Sensorimotor Systems

Explores the neural control of movement, focusing on sensorimotor systems, spinal cord circuitry, and muscle stretch reflexes.

Motor Cortex and Basal Ganglia

Explores the control of movement, motor cortex characteristics, mirror neurons, brain-machine interfaces, and the role of basal ganglia in movement initiation and suppression.

Brain Anatomy

Covers the divisions of the nervous system, brain structure, cranial nerves, and brain conditions.

NeuroRestore: Advancements in Neuromodulation Therapies for Walking Recovery