Comment on “Restoring Voluntary Control of Locomotion After Paralyzing

locomotion after paralyzing spinal cord injury. They have not considered recent findings that their upright posture paradigm contributes to locomotor capability after such injuries. We propose that postural adjustments that activate the locomotor central pattern generator in the upright posture, rather than direct voluntary control of locomotion, account for their results. Van den Brand et al. claimed to have re-stored voluntary control of hindlimblocomotion after paralyzing spinal cord injury using an electrochemical neuroprosthesis combined with overground locomotor training in adult rats (1). They used epidural electrical stim-ulation together with systemically applied drugs and bipedal locomotor training in a robotic pos-tural interface to force rats to walk toward a food reward. Given the impact of such claims for para-plegic patients around the world, it is important to critically examine the evidence provided. In a recent publication, Sławińska and others (2