Utility of somatosensory and motor-evoked potentials in reflecting gross and fine motor functions after unilateral cervical spinal cord contusion injury

Fine motor skills are thought to rely on the integrity of ascending sensory pathways in the spinal dorsal column as well as descending motor pathways that have a neocortical origin. However, the neurophysiological processes underlying communication between the somatosensory and motor pathways that regulate fine motor skills during spontaneous recovery after spinal cord contusion injury remain unclear. Here, we established a rat model of cervical hemicontusive injury using C5 laminectomy followed by contusional displacement of 1.2 mm (mild injury) or 2.0 mm (severe injury) to the C5 spinal cord. Electrophysiological recordings were performed on the brachial muscles up to 12 weeks after injury to investigate the mechanisms by which spinal cord pathways participate in motor function. After spinal cord contusion injury, the amplitudes of somatosensory and motor-evoked potentials were reduced, and the latencies were increased. The forelimb open field locomotion test, grooming test, rearing test and Montoya staircase test revealed improvement in functions. With increasing time after injury, the amplitudes of somatosensory and motor-evoked potentials in rats with mild spinal cord injury increased gradually, and the latencies gradually shortened. In comparison, the recovery times of somatosensory and motor-evoked potential amplitudes and latencies were longer, and the recovery of motor function was delayed in rats with severe spinal cord injury. Correlation analysis revealed that somatosensory-evoked potential and motor-evoked potential parameters were correlated with gross and fine motor function in rats with mild spinal cord contusion injury. In contrast, only somatosensory-evoked potential amplitude was correlated with fine motor skills in rats with severe spinal cord injury. Our results show that changes in both somatosensory and motor-evoked potentials can reflect the changes in gross and fine motor functions after mild spinal cord contusion injury, and that the change in somatosensory-evoked potential amplitude can also reflect the change in fine motor function after severe spinal cord contusion injury. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, China (approval No. NFYY-2017-67) on June 11, 2017.