Lateral corticospinal tract damage correlates with motor output in incomplete spinal cord injury

This study investigates the relationship between spinal cord damage and motor function in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). Researchers used MRI to assess spinal cord damage and measured motor functions like plantarflexion, knee extension, and walking ability. The study found that greater overall spinal cord damage was associated with poorer performance in plantarflexion, knee extension, and walking. Specifically, damage to the lateral corticospinal tract (LCST), a key motor pathway, correlated with reduced motor output on the same side of the body. These findings suggest that MRI can provide valuable information about the location and extent of spinal cord damage, which may help predict motor recovery in people with iSCI. The spatial specificity of the damage measure may offer prognostic value following spinal cord injury.

• 1
  Total spinal cord damage was significantly correlated with averaged plantarflexion torque, averaged knee extension torque, and distance walked in 6 minutes.
• 2
  Right sided LCST damage was significantly correlated with the right sided motor output measures (right plantarflexion torque: r = −0.67, p < 0.01, right knee extension torque: r = −0.54, p < 0.05) but not significantly correlated with left sided motor output measures
• 3
  Left sided LCST damage was significantly correlated with the left sided motor output measures (left plantarflexion torque: r = −0.56, p< 0.05, left knee extension torque: r = −0.68, p < 0.01), but not significantly correlated with right sided motor output measures