# Epidural spinal cord stimulation and respiratory motor function after injury

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE · 2024 · $741,227

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Respiratory motor control deficit is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with spinal cord
injury. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a rehabilitation strategy for respiration in patients with
spinal cord injury as a standard of care. Our previous findings demonstrate that respiratory function in patients
with chronic spinal cord injury can be improved by using our original inspiratory-expiratory pressure threshold
respiratory training protocol. However, the effectiveness of this intervention is limited by the levels of functional
capacity preserved below the neurological level of injury. Our preliminary data obtained for this proposal
demonstrate that electrical spinal cord stimulation applied epidurally at the lumbar level in combination with
respiratory can activate and re-organize spinal motor networks for respiration. We propose to investigate
respiratory motor control-related responses to epidural spinal cord stimulation alone and in combination with
respiratory training. By characterization of respiratory muscle activation patterns using surface
electromyography in association with pulmonary functional and related cardiovascular measures, we expect to
determine specific stimulation parameters needed to increase spinal excitability below level of injury to
enhance responses to the input from supraspinal centers that remain after injury and to promote the neural
plasticity driven by the respiratory training. This hypothesis will be tested by pursuing two specific aims: 1)
Evaluate the acute effects of epidural spinal cord stimulation on respiratory functional and motor control
properties; and 2) Evaluate the effectiveness of epidural spinal cord stimulation combined with respiratory
training.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10839937
- **Project number:** 5R01HL150581-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexander Vladimirovich Ovechkin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $741,227
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10839937

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10839937, Epidural spinal cord stimulation and respiratory motor function after injury (5R01HL150581-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10839937. Licensed CC0.

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