ArticleNature2018
Targeted neurotechnology restores walking in humans with spinal cord injury.
20 registry-linked trialsOpen access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph
Article in Nature, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 20 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 518 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
518citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
68.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Acute Effects of Pharmacological Neuromodulation on Leg Motor Activity in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury Treated With Epidural Electrical Stimulation
NCT04632290 naactive not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation
Brain-controlled Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury
Priming With High-Frequency Trans-spinal Stimulation to Augment Locomotor Benefits in Spinal Cord Injury
Deep Brain Stimulation of the Lateral Hypothalamus to Augment Motor Function of Patients With Spinal Cord Injury
Restoring Hemodynamic Stability Using Targeted Epidural Spinal Stimulation Following Spinal Cord Injury
Restoring Hemodynamic Stability Using Targeted Epidural Spinal Stimulation Following Spinal Cord Injury
Epidural Electrical Stimulation to Restore Hemodynamic Stability and Trunk Control in People With Spinal Cord Injury
Brain Controlled Spinal Cord Stimulation in Participants With Cervical Spinal Cord Injury for Upper Limb Rehabilitation (UP2)
NCT05669508 naactive not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation
The Reynolds Innovative Spinal Electrical Stimulation (RISES) Program: Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation
Monitoring the Effect of Epidural Stimulation on Sensorimotor and Autonomic Functions in Chronic Patients With Spinal Cord Injury
Evaluation of Spinal Cord Stimulation Assisted by Motor Rehabilitation Training for Restoring Motor Function After Spinal Cord Injury: an Interventional, Prospective, Monocentric Study
Study on Preliminary Safety and Efficacy of the ARC Therapy Using the ARC-IM Lumbar System to Support Mobility in People With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
NCT06243952 naactive not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation
Brain Controlled Spinal Cord Stimulation In Participants With Spinal Cord Injury For Lower Limb Rehabilitation
Study on Preliminary Safety and Efficacy of the ARC-IM Therapy to Alleviate Locomotor Deficits in People With Parkinson's Disease
Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation for Lower Extremity Motor Function in Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord Stimulation Surgery for Improving Lower Limb Motor Dysfunction in Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN): A Prospective, Multicenter, Single-Arm, Self-Controlled Study.
Study on Preliminary Safety and Efficacy of Epidural Electrical Stimulation to Manage Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction After Spinal Cord Injury
ARC-IM Therapy To Support and Promote Recovery of Ambulatory Functions in People With Subacute and Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Combined Gait Training and Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation to Enhance Lower Limbs Motor Recovery After Subacute SCI
Evaluation of Spinal Cord Stimulation Assisted by Motor Rehabilitation Training for Restoring Motor Function in Non-traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: an Interventional, Prospective, Monocentric Study
Who cites it
518 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,063 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spinal cord stimulation to manage autonomic dysfunction after spinal cord injury: a systematic review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical applications of invasive spinal cord stimulation in neurological disorders: a narrative review.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation for lower limb rehabilitation in spinal cord injury: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of device-based neuromodulation on the motor recovery of patients with spinal cord injury.Spinal cord · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of robotic exoskeleton and conventional gait training in patients with spinal cord injury: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Current perspectives on neuromodulation in ALS patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Postural changes and motor evoked potentials following percutaneous spinal cord epidural stimulation in spinal cord injury.Spinal cord series and cases · 2026Trial
- Spinal cord stimulation for upper limb motor function in people with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis: a feasibility trial.Nature medicine · 2026Trial
- Functional outcomes and participants' perspectives during short-term application of spinal stimulation in individuals with spinal cord injury.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2025Trial
- Combinatorial approaches increasing neuronal activity accelerate recovery after spinal cord injury.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2025Trial
- First-in-human study of epidural spinal cord stimulation in individuals with spinal muscular atrophy.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Non-invasive spinal cord electrical stimulation for arm and hand function in chronic tetraplegia: a safety and efficacy trial.Nature medicine · 2024Trial
- Cardiac cycle shapes spinal cord excitability.BMC biology · 2026Article
- In conversation with Grégoire Courtine.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Epidural Electrical Stimulation Within an Integrated Rehabilitation Pathway for Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Safety and 12-Month Functional Outcomes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Beyond Pain Relief: Motor Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation in Chronic Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury During Routine Outpatient Rehabilitation-A Case Report.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Neural Network Connection Characteristics Between Motor Cortex and Spinal Cord During Rat Bipedal Walking.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Neurorehabilitation in the 21st Century: New Science, New Strategies, New Expectations.Neurorehabilitation and neural repair · 2026Review
- From Trial to Chronic Epidural Electrical Stimulation: A Single-Patient Feasibility Study in Motor-Complete Spinal Cord Injury.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Off-target effects of percutaneous epidural spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion stimulation with task-specific training on lower urinary tract function in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2026Article
458 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
35 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Fabien B Wagner *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jean-Baptiste Mignardot *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Camille G Le Goff-Mignardot *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Robin DemesmaekerCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Salif KomiCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Marco CapogrossoPlatform of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Andreas RowaldCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ismael SeáñezCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Miroslav CabanGTXmedical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Elvira PirondiniCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Molywan VatDepartment of Neurosurgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Laura A McCrackenCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Roman HeimgartnerCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Isabelle FodorDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Anne WatrinGTXmedical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Perrine SeguinCenter for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Edoardo PaolesGTXmedical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Katrien Van Den KeybusDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Grégoire EberleDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Brigitte SchurchDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Etienne PralongDepartment of Neurosurgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Fabio BecceDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
John PriorDepartment of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nicholas BuseMedtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Rik BuschmanMedtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Esra NeufeldFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS), Zurich, Switzerland.
Niels KusterFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS), Zurich, Switzerland.
Stefano CardaDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Joachim von ZitzewitzGTXmedical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vincent DelattreGTXmedical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Tim DenisonMedtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Hendrik LambertGTXmedical, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Karen Minassian *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jocelyne Bloch *Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Grégoire Courtine *Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. gregoire.courtine@epfl.ch.
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne · CHUniversity of Lausanne · CHMedtronic (United States) · USFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society · CHUniversity of Fribourg · CHUniversity of Oxford · GB
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Spinal cord injury leads to severe locomotor deficits or even complete leg paralysis. Here we introduce targeted spinal cord stimulation neurotechnologies that enabled voluntary control of walking in individuals who had sustained a spinal cord injury more than four years ago and presented with permanent motor deficits or complete paralysis despite extensive rehabilitation. Using an implanted pulse generator with real-time triggering capabilities, we delivered trains of spatially selective stimulation to the lumbosacral spinal cord with timing that coincided with the intended movement. Within one week, this spatiotemporal stimulation had re-established adaptive control of paralysed muscles during overground walking. Locomotor performance improved during rehabilitation. After a few months, participants regained voluntary control over previously paralysed muscles without stimulation and could walk or cycle in ecological settings during spatiotemporal stimulation. These results establish a technological framework for improving neurological recovery and supporting the activities of daily living after spinal cord injury.
Indexed as
Biomedical TechnologyElectric Stimulation TherapyActivities of Daily LivingComputer SimulationElectromyographyEpidural SpaceHumansLegLocomotionMaleMotor NeuronsMuscle, SkeletalParalysisSpinal CordSpinal Cord InjuriesWalking
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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Registered trials
NCT04052776ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT04632290ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT04807764ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT04965727ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT04994886ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT05044923ClinicalTrials.gov
and 14 more above
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.