Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40975061›Full record

ArticleNeuron2025

Neural mechanisms underlying the recovery of voluntary control of motoneurons after paralysis with spinal cord stimulation.

Josep-Maria Balaguer, Genis Prat-Ortega, Julia Ostrowski, Luigi Borda, Nikhil Verma, Prakarsh Yadav, Erynn Sorensen, Roberto de Freitas, Scott Ensel, Serena Donadio and 11 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neuron, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Recovery of Dexterous Motor Control via Non-Monosynaptic Corticospinal Pathways.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Josep-Maria BalaguerRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Genis Prat-OrtegaRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Julia OstrowskiRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Luigi BordaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Nikhil VermaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Prakarsh YadavDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Erynn SorensenRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Roberto de FreitasRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Scott EnselRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Serena DonadioRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Lucy LiangRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Jonathan HoRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Arianna DamianiRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Erinn M GrigsbyRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Daryl P FieldsRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Jorge A Gonzalez-MartinezDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Peter C GersztenDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Lee E FisherRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Douglas J WeberDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Elvira PirondiniRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Marco CapogrossoRehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address: mcapo@pitt.edu.

Funding

Spinal Cord Stimulation to Improve Motor Function in People with Post-Stroke HemiplegiaUG3NS123135 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI CAPOGROSSO, MARCO, WEBER, DOUGLAS J · 2022 to 2024
$4.7M
Spinal Cord Stimulation to Improve Motor Function in People with Post-Stroke HemiplegiaUH3NS123135 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Marco Capogrosso, Douglas J Weber · 2025 to 2026
$2.8M
Deep brain stimulation of the motor thalamus to improve cortico-spinal control of muscles after strokeR01NS131428 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Jorge Alvaro Gonzalez-Martinez, Elvira Pirondini · 2024 to 2026
$1.8M
NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS131428NINDS NIH HHS UG3 NS123135NINDS NIH HHS UH3 NS123135
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) improves motor control after paralysis. This evidence led to the hypothesis that SCS facilitates residual supraspinal inputs to spinal motoneurons. Here, we demonstrate that this hypothesis is not supported by experimental evidence. Instead, we show that residual supraspinal inputs modulate motoneurons' membrane potential to transform subthreshold SCS pulses into suprathreshold action potentials, thereby entraining motoneuron activity to SCS. Despite this entrainment, residual supraspinal inputs can control motoneuron firing rates by modulating the number of subthreshold SCS pulses transformed into action potentials, resulting in volitional modulation of motor output for a restricted set of SCS parameters. Furthermore, we predict that residual supraspinal inhibitory drive can silence unwanted suprathreshold motoneuron activity, enlarging the functional set of SCS parameters. Finally, we demonstrate that this set of functional stimulation parameters is further restricted by lesion severity, highlighting an intrinsic limitation of SCS in cases of severe injury.

Indexed as

Motor NeuronsParalysisRecovery of FunctionSpinal CordSpinal Cord StimulationAction PotentialsAnimalsFemaleRatscomputer modelsmotoneuronsmotor neuronmotor unitsnon-human primatesspinal cord injuryspinal cord stimulationstroke

Identifiers

PMID40975061
PMCPMC12964258

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.