Animal Models for Studying Potential Training Strategies in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

In the late 1980s, it was clearly demonstrated that adult spinal cats can be re-trained to walk after a complete spinal cord transection, using treadmill training. This has led to profound changes in the rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injury. The use of animal models to study training-induced locomotor plasticity after spinal cord injury has expanded since this original demonstration. The goal of the present review is to summarize findings obtained with these animal models that may be of relevance to the re-training of humans with spinal cord injury. From the complete spinal cord transection models, adaptive capacity, retention of training, task-specificity, role of cutaneous inputs, effect of training with robotic devices, and spinal cord stimulation will be discussed. From the partial spinal lesion models, the effect of ventral or dorsal lesions of the cord will be presented. Finally, the effects of drugs on training will be compared between the complete and partial spinal lesions models.