Spinal Cord Associative Plasticity in Cerebral Palsy

Associative plasticity has been used to promote functional recovery from conditions affecting movement. The long term goal of this project is to use electrical stimulation techniques to improve arm and hand function. The goal of this prospective experimental study in adults with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (hCP) is to test the effects of pairing hand motor cortical and median nerve stimulation targeted to induce plasticity in the cervical spinal cord. Based on preliminary data in neurotypical adults, the investigators are testing the effects of this approach in adults with hCP.

This study will first verify the present stimulation parameters as sufficient to promote induction of associative plasticity of sensorimotor connections for manual dexterity in adults with hCP. This will be assessed through neurophysiological, biomechanical, and clinical functional outcome measures. Successful pairing showing meaningful improvements in dexterity could then be used as an impetus for a larger study examining the efficacy of SCAP in people with hCP.