Long-term neuroplasticity in spinal cord injury patients: A study on movement-related brain potentials

Neuroplastic changes that take place in the brain after sustaining a spinal cord injury have generally been studied encompassing various post-injury time periods, sometimes ranging from just a few days to many years. Although research on the low-end of this time spectrum has established that neuroplastic changes can be detected shortly after trauma, electroencephalographic changes that take place in long-term injuries are still poorly defined. To investigate this, the present study recorded the movement-related brain potentials from 9 long suffering spinal cord injury patients (post-injury range 6–24 years, mean 14.63; age range 27–44 years, mean 36.78) while they were attempting to move their paralysed toes. Their data were compared with the data of similar age and same sex spinal intact participants; 10 of whom only prepared for action and 10 others who actually executed the movement. The results showed that the amplitudes of the readiness potential and motor potential were lower in the spinal cord injury group than in the movement control group. The topographic distribution of the motor potential was also more similar between the spinal cord injury group and the no-movement control group, whereas that of the readiness potential was more similar between the spinal cord injury group and the movement control group. These findings suggest that both motor preparatory processes and motor execution processes are affected by neuroplastic changes that take place in the brain of long suffering spinal cord injury patients.

► Neuroplasticity in long-term spinal cord injuries affects motor preparation processes.
► Neuroplasticity in long-term spinal cord injuries affects motor execution processes.
► Changes go beyond those previously reported at an early stage of injury.