S. S. Srinivasan, G. Tuckute, J. Zou., Guiterrez S., Seong H., Barry R., Herr H. “Agonist Antagonist Myoneural Interface Amputation Preserves Proprioceptive Sensorimotor Neurophysiology in Lower Limbs”, Science Translational Medicine (2020)

Abstract

The brain undergoes marked changes in function and functional connectivity after limb amputation. The agonist-antagonist myoneural interface (AMI) amputation is a procedure that restores physiological agonist-antagonist muscle relationships responsible for proprioceptive sensory feedback to enable greater motor control. We compared results from the functional neuroimaging of individuals (n = 29) with AMI amputation, traditional amputation, and no amputation. Individuals with traditional amputation demonstrated a significant decrease in proprioceptive activity, measured by activation of Brodmann area 3a, whereas functional activation in individuals with AMIs was not significantly different from controls with no amputation (P < 0.05). The degree of proprioceptive activity in the brain strongly correlated with fascicle activity in the peripheral muscles and performance on motor tasks (P < 0.05), supporting the mechanistic basis of the AMI procedure. These results suggest that surgical techniques designed to restore proprioceptive peripheral neuromuscular constructs result in desirable central sensorimotor plasticity.