Motoneuron Recruitment and Motor Evoked Potential Up-Conditioning (MEP) in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

The purpose of this research study is to examine the effect of a brain stimulation training to improve the function of brain-spinal cord- muscle connections. Because brain-to-muscle pathways are very important in our movement control, restoring function of these pathways may improve movement problems after injuries. Spinal cord injury causes damage to the brain-to-muscle connection. However, when the injury is "incomplete", there is a possibility that some of the brain-to-muscle pathways are still connected and may be trained to improve movement function. For examining brain-to-muscle pathways, investigators use a transcranial magnetic stimulator. Investigators hope that the results of this research study will help us develop new treatments for people who have movement disabilities. This study will require about 42 visits over the first 14 weeks, and another 6 visits over an additional 3 months. Each visit will take about 1 ½ hours.

NCT Number	NCT07179822
Lead Sponsor	Medical University of South Carolina Collaborators: Northwestern University, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Conditions	Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders (SCI/D), Spinal Cord Injury
Enrollment	15 participants
Start Date	2025-11-03
Primary Completion	2027-09-30 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-09-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-29