Project description
Measuring spinal cord activity in health and disease
Spinal cord injury or an enhanced sensitivity of spinal cord neurons causes chronic pain. Effective pain management demands a better understanding of the electrophysiological changes that occur at spinal cord level. The EU-funded SpinRec project aims to resolve this issue by developing a non-invasive approach capable of measuring the electrical activity of human spinal neurons. The generated electrospinogram (ESG) will be compatible with brain activity measurements, offering a new way of assessing the spinal cord–brain axis in health and disease. Long term, this tool will enable the early diagnosis and stratification of spinal cord injury patients and those suffering from chronic pain.
Objective
Lesions of the spinal cord in humans are devastating and often lead to severe refractory forms of chronic pain. Also, enhanced sensitivity of spinal cord neurons – an abnormal condition called central sensitization – is crucial for the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Effective treatment of pain will depend critically on a better understanding of the electrophysiological changes that occur at spinal cord level. Still, the electrical activity of spinal cord neurons can be assessed only indirectly, unless invasive approaches are used. Due to serious anatomical and physiological hurdles, the availability of a non-invasive approach to measure the electrical activity of human spinal neurons (electrospinogram, ESG) is lacking. This is the problem that SpinRec aims to solve. The product resulting from SpinRec, compatible with simultaneous measures of brain activity (e.g. electroencephalography), will allow for the first time to directly explore spinal sensorimotor circuits in health and disease, and thereby allow cost efficient early diagnosis and stratification of patients with chronic pain and spinal cord injury.
Fields of science
Not validated
Not validated
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantHost institution
16163 Genova
Italy