Purpose: Spinal cord injury (SCI), a profound impairment of sensorimotor functions, is often associated with pain related phenomena, including mechanical allodynia, a condition in which non-painful tactile sensation is perceived as pain. Pain and somatic sensation are undeniable markers of normal bodily awareness. However, the mechanism by which they are integrated into a coherent sense of the bodily self remains largely unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of high-level multisensory manipulation on subjective experiences of pain, touch, and body-ownership. Methods: We administered visuo-tactile stimulation based on the rubber hand illusion. In a longitudinal study, we compared the strength of the illusion in a male with SCI, who initially had lost somatosensation in all his fingers, but a few months later reported signs of tactile allodynia restricted to the left C6-dermatome. Results: After the restoration of some somatosensation, even if it were painful, synchronous but not asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation induced body illusion. Previously painful stimuli were temporarily perceived as less painful, and the patient further regained tactile sensations in adjacent numb areas. Conclusions: The sensations of touch and pain are mutually influenced and inextricably linked to a coherent representation of one's own body. Multisensory manipulations affecting the perception and representation of the body might thus offer a powerful opportunity to mitigate nociceptive and somatic abnormalities
Pain and somatic sensation are transiently normalized by illusory body ownership in a patient with spinal cord injury / Pazzaglia, Mariella; Haggard, Patrick; Scivoletto, Giorgio; Molinari, Marco; Lenggenhager, Bigna. - In: RESTORATIVE NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE. - ISSN 0922-6028. - ELETTRONICO. - 34:4(2016), pp. 603-613. [10.3233/RNN-150611]
Pain and somatic sensation are transiently normalized by illusory body ownership in a patient with spinal cord injury
Pazzaglia, Mariella
Primo
Writing – Review & Editing
;Haggard, PatrickSecondo
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2016
Abstract
Purpose: Spinal cord injury (SCI), a profound impairment of sensorimotor functions, is often associated with pain related phenomena, including mechanical allodynia, a condition in which non-painful tactile sensation is perceived as pain. Pain and somatic sensation are undeniable markers of normal bodily awareness. However, the mechanism by which they are integrated into a coherent sense of the bodily self remains largely unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of high-level multisensory manipulation on subjective experiences of pain, touch, and body-ownership. Methods: We administered visuo-tactile stimulation based on the rubber hand illusion. In a longitudinal study, we compared the strength of the illusion in a male with SCI, who initially had lost somatosensation in all his fingers, but a few months later reported signs of tactile allodynia restricted to the left C6-dermatome. Results: After the restoration of some somatosensation, even if it were painful, synchronous but not asynchronous visuo-tactile stimulation induced body illusion. Previously painful stimuli were temporarily perceived as less painful, and the patient further regained tactile sensations in adjacent numb areas. Conclusions: The sensations of touch and pain are mutually influenced and inextricably linked to a coherent representation of one's own body. Multisensory manipulations affecting the perception and representation of the body might thus offer a powerful opportunity to mitigate nociceptive and somatic abnormalitiesFile | Dimensione | Formato | |
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