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research article

Towards personalized mapping through lumbosacral spinal cord task fMRI

Hernandez-Charpak, Sergio Daniel
•
Kinany, Nawal  
•
Ricchi, Ilaria  
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January 23, 2025
Imaging Neuroscience

The lumbosacral spinal cord contains neural circuits crucial for locomotion, organized into rostrocaudal levels with distinct somatosensory and motor neuron pools that project to and from the muscles of the lower limbs. However, the specific spinal levels that innervate each muscle and the locations of neuron pools vary significantly between individuals, presenting challenges for targeted therapies and neurosurgical interventions aimed at restoring locomotion. Non-invasive approaches to functionally map the segmental distribution of muscle innervation—or projectome—are therefore essential. Here, we developed a pipeline dedicated to record blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals in the lumbosacral spinal cord using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We assessed spinal activity across different conditions targeting the extensor/flexor muscles of the right leg (ankle, knee, and hip) in 12 healthy participants. To enhance clinical relevance, we included not only active movements but also two conditions that did not rely on participants’ performance: passive stretches and muscle-specific tendon vibration, which activates proprioceptive afferents of the vibrated muscle. BOLD activity patterns were primarily located on the side ipsilateral to the movement, stretch, or vibration, both at the group and participant levels, indicating the BOLD activity being associated with the projectome. The fMRI-derived rostrocaudal BOLD activity patterns exhibited mixed alignment with expected innervation maps from invasive studies, varying by muscle and condition. While some muscles and conditions matched well across studies, others did not. Significant variability among individual participants underscores the need for personalized mapping of projections for targeted therapies and neurosurgical interventions. To support the interpretation of BOLD activity patterns, we developed a decision tree-based framework that combines reconstruction of neural structures from high-resolution anatomical MRI datasets and muscle-specific fMRI activity to produce personalized projectomes. Our findings provide a valuable proof-of-concept for the potential of fMRI to map the lumbosacral spinal cord’s functional organization, while shedding light on challenges associated with this endeavor.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1162/imag_a_00455
Scopus ID

2-s2.0-105000009200

Author(s)
Hernandez-Charpak, Sergio Daniel

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois

Kinany, Nawal  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Ricchi, Ilaria  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Schlienger, Raphaëlle

Aix Marseille Université

Mattera, Loan

Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva

Martuzzi, Roberto

Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva

Nazarian, Bruno

Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone

Demesmaeker, Robin

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois

Rowald, Andreas

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois

Kavounoudias, Anne

Aix Marseille Université

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Date Issued

2025-01-23

Published in
Imaging Neuroscience
Volume

3

Article Number

imag_a_00455

Subjects

fMRI

•

lumbosacral

•

muscle

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spinal cord

•

task

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
MIPLAB  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

BMBF

01ZZ2016

Available on Infoscience
April 1, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/248403
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