Title
Cortical plasticity in phantom limb pain: A fMRI study on the neural correlates of behavioral clinical manifestations.
Date Issued
30 October 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Duarte D.
Bauer C.C.C.
Pinto C.B.
Saleh Velez F.G.
Estudillo-Guerra M.A.
Gunduz M.E.
Crandell D.
Merabet L.
Fregni F.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ireland Ltd
Abstract
The neural mechanism of phantom limb pain (PLP) is related to the intense brain reorganization process implicating plasticity after deafferentation mostly in sensorimotor system. There is a limited understanding of the association between the sensorimotor system and PLP. We used a novel task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approach to (1) assess neural activation within a-priori selected regions-of-interested (motor cortex [M1], somatosensory cortex [S1], and visual cortex [V1]), (2) quantify the cortical representation shift in the affected M1, and (3) correlate these changes with baseline clinical characteristics. In a sample of 18 participants, we found a significantly increased activity in M1 and S1 as well as a shift in motor cortex representation that was not related to PLP intensity. In an exploratory analyses (not corrected for multiple comparisons), they were directly correlated with time since amputation; and there was an association between increased activity in M1 with a lack of itching sensation and V1 activation was negatively correlated with PLP. Longer periods of amputation lead to compensatory changes in sensory-motor areas; and itching seems to be a protective marker for less signal changes. We confirmed that PLP intensity is not associated with signal changes in M1 and S1 but in V1.
Volume
304
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Neurología clínica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85089366524
PubMed ID
Source
Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
ISSN of the container
09254927
Sponsor(s)
This study was supported by an NIH RO1 grant ( 1R01HD082302 - 01A1 ).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus