Enhanced Tactile (Touch) Spatial Acuity in Upper Limb Amputees

NCT00028210 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 02006702-N-0067
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will examine whether tactile (touch) abilities at the lip are more acute in people with upper limb amputation compared with healthy normal volunteers. People with an amputated upper limb have an expanded brain representation of the lip that may correlate with heightened tactile spatial acuity. Normal volunteers will be recruited for this study. Candidates will be screened with physical and neurological examinations. (Amputee volunteers will be studied at the amputee clinic at the University of Tubingen, Germany.) Participants will sit comfortably in a chair, wearing a blindfold, during the following experiments:

• Plastic domes with grooves are placed on parts of the lower lip on either side for a few seconds. The volunteer is then asked to identify the direction of the grooves relative to the long axis of the lip.
• The participant's arm is placed in a cast and the index finger is immobilized. The same test done on the lip is repeated on the distal part of the index finger. Each part of the test lasts about 20 minutes, and the entire experiment takes about 2 hours.

Conditions

Amputation

Keywords

Amputee; Plasticity; Somatosensory; Upper Limb Amputation; Tactile Performance; Cortical Reorganization; Healthy Volunteer; HV; Normal Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Normal volunteers who are willing and able to stay relaxed and collaborative for a period of up to 2 hours.
• Subjects with upper limb amputation more than one year before testing.

You may not qualify if:

• Neurological or psychiatric disease
• Excessive callus at the palm of the fingers
• Subjects, who are unable to perform or understand the task

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Elbert T, Flor H, Birbaumer N, Knecht S, Hampson S, Larbig W, Taub E. Extensive reorganization of the somatosensory cortex in adult humans after nervous system injury. Neuroreport. 1994 Dec 20;5(18):2593-7. doi: 10.1097/00001756-199412000-00047.

  PMID: 7696611 BACKGROUND

• Flor H, Elbert T, Knecht S, Wienbruch C, Pantev C, Birbaumer N, Larbig W, Taub E. Phantom-limb pain as a perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization following arm amputation. Nature. 1995 Jun 8;375(6531):482-4. doi: 10.1038/375482a0.

  PMID: 7777055 BACKGROUND

• Kaas JH, Merzenich MM, Killackey HP. The reorganization of somatosensory cortex following peripheral nerve damage in adult and developing mammals. Annu Rev Neurosci. 1983;6:325-56. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ne.06.030183.001545. No abstract available.

  PMID: 6340591 BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 17, 2001
• First Posted: December 18, 2001
• Study Start: December 1, 2001
• Study Completion: March 1, 2004
• Last Updated: March 4, 2008

Record last verified: 2004-03

Locations

US (1)