Dr. Stephano Chang, one of our Neurosurgery residents, has won the 2021 UBC CSCI/CIHR Resident Research Manuscript Prize Competition. His research focus is targeting neural pathways to enhance mechanisms of locomotion in people with neurological disabilities. His winning manuscript was entitled “Deep brain stimulation of midbrain locomotor circuits in the freely moving pig”. This was published in the February 27, 2021 edition of the prestigious Brain Stimulation Journal.
This work is a novel approach to understanding and modulating central brain circuits that are involved in locomotion. A large animal pig model was developed, and specialized MRI hardware and surgical instrumentation were designed specifically for this work. The research identified a specific deep brain location that when stimulated, resulted in locomotor activity. Importantly, the
research also characterized adjacent neural structures and found inhibitory responses. These are critical findings that will provide a framework for further work with an ultimate goal of using neural stimulation to restore ambulation in humans.
Read the full manuscript here.