Somatosensory and motor evoked potentials in dogs with chronic severe thoracolumbar spinal cord injury

Nine dogs exhibited 'spinal walking' and nine other individuals had intact pelvic limb pain sensation. Of 34 tested, 12 dogs had recordable scalp somatosensory evoked potentials. Fifty-three of 59 tested dogs had recordable spinal somatosensory evoked potentials, but only six had recordable potentials cranial to the lesion. Twenty-two of 94 tested dogs had recordable transcranial magnetic motor evoked potentials in the pelvic limb(s). There was no apparent association between intact evoked potential recording and either spinal walking or intact pain sensation. We conclude that factors other than influence, or lack of influence, of input carried by spinal cord long tracts mediate recovery of spinal walking.