Spinal cord stimulation is a neuromodulatory tool used for instanse to treat chronic pain. There are studies showing that spinal cord stimulation is beneficial also in spinal cord injury, but the results are heterogenous. The aim of this study is to understand the complex circuitry underlying the functional responses to spinal cord stimulation in spinal cord of healthy rats and in the case of spinal cord injury. This will be done by combining novel technology for functional magnetic resonance imaging and stimulation methods and by multimodal characterization of the spinal cord structure. The study will be conducted in the Biomedical Imaging Unit in the University of Eastern Finland. The outcomes of this project will be translatable to clinical use for the treatment of spinal cord injury and monitoring the recovery.

2020

2024