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Published on: April 4, 2012
Tactile illusion perception in patients with central pain
G R Gonzales1, S A Lewis, A L Weaver
1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Ariz, USA. gonzale6@mskcc.org
Mayo Clinic Proceedings
|March 13, 2001
Summary
Central pain (CP) patients with cervical injuries showed improved tactile illusion (TI) perception, while most with supraspinal injuries had reduced somatosensory (SS) and TI perception. Some Dejerine-Roussy syndrome patients exhibited TI perseveration.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
- Pain Research
Background:
- Central pain (CP) arises from damage to the central nervous system.
- Evaluating sensory pathway integrity is crucial for understanding CP.
- Novel techniques are needed to assess somatosensory function in CP patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the lemniscal pathways in central pain patients.
- To utilize a novel tactile illusion (TI) technique for evaluation.
- To differentiate sensory changes based on injury location.
Main Methods:
- Somatosensory (SS) and tactile illusion (TI) testing were conducted on 27 CP patients.
- Testing was performed on both affected and unaffected wrists.
- Control subjects were used to account for learning effects in TI testing.
Main Results:
- CP patients with cervical/brainstem injuries often had decreased SS perception but improved TI performance on the affected side.
- Thalamic/suprathalamic injuries led to altered SS perception and reduced TI perception in most CP patients.
- A novel finding of number perseveration during TI testing was observed in Dejerine-Roussy syndrome patients.
Conclusions:
- Cervical spinal cord injury-related CP may involve enhanced TI perception.
- Supraspinal injuries in CP patients typically result in diminished SS and TI perception.
- TI perseveration represents a unique sensory phenomenon in some CP cases, particularly Dejerine-Roussy syndrome.
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