title: Preserved corticospinal conduction without voluntary movement after spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify preserved corticomotor connection in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) in the absence of clinically observable movement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rehabilitation Hospital and Medical Research Institute, NY, USA.
  
  
  METHODS
  The motor-evoked potential (MEP) response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was recorded using surface electromyography from the right biceps brachii, extersor carpi radialis (ECR), flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscles in a 31-year-old male traumatic SCI chronic patient-ASIA B, injury level C5. Motor power scores were additionally obtained from a clinician blinded to the results of TMS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TMS could consistently elicit MEPs of normal latency, phase and amplitude, in the severely affected ECR muscle but not the similarly affected FCR muscle. The response in proximal and unaffected biceps muscle was larger than the healthy subject, whereas no response was obtained in the distal APB muscle as expected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TMS can identify residual pathways not apparent from clinical assessment alone, which may have prescriptive value for rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: 1] Non-invasive Brain Stimulation and Human Motor Control Laboratory, Burke Medical Research Institute, Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, White Plains, NY, USA [2] Australian Neuro-muscular Research Institute and Centre for Neuromuscular and Neurological Disorders, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia [3] Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Thickbroom
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rykman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pascual-Leone
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Volpe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods
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