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Reflex conditioning in a spinal man.

L P Ince, B S Brucker, A Alba

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

|October 1, 1978

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This study demonstrates that classical conditioning can train individuals with spinal cord injuries to urinate on command. This technique offers a potential new treatment for spastic neurogenic bladder, improving bladder management.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Urology
Behavioral Psychology

Background:

Spinal cord injury often results in a spastic neurogenic bladder, leading to incontinence and management challenges.
Current treatments for neurogenic bladder may have limitations, necessitating novel therapeutic approaches.

Observation:

A patient with a completely transected spinal cord and spastic neurogenic bladder participated in a classical conditioning study.
A strong abdominal shock (unconditioned stimulus) was paired with mild thigh electrical stimulation (conditioned stimulus).

Findings:

The conditioned stimulus alone reliably elicited a conditioned response of urination.
The conditioned response was persistent and did not extinguish over time.
The conditioning procedure resulted in clinically safe residual urine volumes.

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Implications:

This conditioning technique shows promise for treating spastic neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injury patients.
The findings suggest that conditioning can occur at a reflex level, even without cortical involvement.
This research opens avenues for non-invasive bladder control strategies in neurological conditions.