By sending electrical pulses through a paralyzed rat's spine, neuroscientists have been able to make the animal walk again.

For those suffering from paralysis, regaining the ability to walk is one step closer to becoming a reality.

Scientists in Switzerland have figured out a way to stimulate the spinal cord of paralyzed rats, allowing them to walk again.

Utilizing epidural electrical stimulation, also known as EES, two electrode arrays are implanted into the spine above and below the location of the spinal injury. Working together, the signals sent from both arrays bypass the injury, allowing for movement.

Up until now, human tests using EES hadn't graduated past helping to flex toes or supporting a person's weight while they stood up.

The difference between past studies and the current one is within the electrical signal. Unlike in previous experiments, the Swiss scientists varied the frequency, pulse length and amplitude of the signal with each step.

This method of sending signals more closely resembles how neurons fire naturally.

If the electric signal stays the same, as done in the past, it causes the nerves to fatigue and eventually stop working.

This new approach has allowed the rats to walk farther, and with more control.

One of the neuroscientists said, "The rat has no voluntary control of its limbs, but the severed spinal cord can be reactivated and stimulated to perform natural walking. We can control in real-time how the rat moves forward and how high it lifts its legs."

Human clinical trials are expected to begin in 2015.