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MEP Up-conditioning to Target Corticospinal Plasticity

NCT06989905 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: EARLY_PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 11

Last updated 2026-03-30

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Individuals with chronic cervical spinal cord injury will complete a 10-week training protocol where participants receive non-invasive brain stimulation and feedback on the size of the corresponding muscle response (wrist extensor).

Investigators will assess the impact of the brain stimulation training on 1) the brain-to-spinal cord-to-muscle connection and 2) motor functions of the arm and hand. Also, brain and spine magnetic resonance imaging will be collected before and after the training. The imaging measurements will tell investigators about how spinal damage, brain function, and brain structure relate to motor presentation and the response to the training.

Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Tetraplegia/Tetraparesis

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Up-conditioning of the wrist extensor motor evoked potential

At the beginning of each session, EMG recording and nerve stimulating electrodes are placed over the arm. In all sessions, MEPs will be measured while the sitting subject provides a pre-set level of background muscle EMG with joint angles fixed. In 225 control trials of each baseline sessions and the first 20 trials of conditioning sessions the subject will receive no feedback as to MEP size (i.e., control MEPs). In 225 conditioning trials of each conditioning session, the subject will be encouraged to increase the target muscle MEP, and will receive immediate feedback as to whether MEP size was above a criterion (i.e., whether the trial was a success).

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Doscher Neurorehabilitation Research Program

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

    collaborator NIH

  • Medical University of South Carolina

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Allison Lewis, DPT, PhD · Medical University of South Carolina

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-05-27
Primary Completion
2027-03-31
Completion
2027-03-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06989905 on ClinicalTrials.gov