Modular control of gait in incomplete spinal cord injury: Preliminary results

Abstract

Muscles synergies, or motor modules, are thought to be the building blocks of motor control in vertebrates. In human walking, experimental finding demonstrated that 4 to 5 synergies can explain most of the variability of electromyographic activity of lower limb muscles. How is modular control affected in neurologically injured patients is still object of investigation. In this paper we present preliminary experimental findings on the modular control of walking in three incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Results show that the impulsive and synergistic control of muscles is preserved in these patients, and that the basic features are in general similar to the healthy modular control, as described in the literature. Relevant differences in timing recruitment of muscle synergies are associated to large deviations in spatiotemporal parameters, supporting the functional meaning of muscle synergies.