Posture after spinal injury to command axons for leg flexion.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Animal Locomotion
• Spinal Cord Injury

Background:

• Understanding postural control is crucial for rehabilitation after spinal cord injury.
• The role of specific spinal cord tracts in coordinating limb movements and weight shifting remains an area of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a T-9 lateral column spinal cord lesion on postural adjustments in dogs.
• To compare the postural responses of unoperated dogs with those of dogs with surgically induced spinal cord lesions during quiet stance and limb flexion tasks.

Main Methods:

• Three unoperated dogs and two dogs with a transected right lateral column at T-9 were studied.
• Postural adjustments were assessed during quiet stance and right hindlimb (RH) flexion.
• Center of gravity displacements were measured using four force plates.

Main Results:

• Both unoperated and operated dogs maintained a stable center of gravity during quiet stance.
• Unoperated dogs exhibited controlled RH limb flexion or weight shifting.
• Operated dogs failed to flex the RH limb, instead adducting it until it slid off the force plate, but still shifted their center of gravity leftward.

Conclusions:

• Transection of the right lateral column at T-9 did not impair the ability to adjust posture.
• Despite altered limb movement, the operated dogs demonstrated compensatory postural adjustments, suggesting functional redundancy or alternative pathways for postural control.