Cortical Brain Activation During Robot-Assisted Gait in Humans With Acute and Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

This fNIRS neuroimaging study examined brain motor cortex activation in 23 individuals with spinal cord injury (acute and chronic) during robot-assisted gait training. Results showed significant activation in supplementary motor area and primary motor cortex during robotic gait versus rest, with greater activity in chronic versus acute injury groups and in paraplegic versus tetraplegic participants, demonstrating cortical plasticity and adaptive mechanisms.