• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, September 28, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Science

New insights into cause of phantom limb pain may have therapeutic benefits

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 15, 2016
in Science
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: Osaka University

Osaka, Japan – Phantom limb pain is the pain experienced following loss of a limb, either from injury or amputation. This sensation of pain was previously thought to be caused by abnormal plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex of the brain, and rehabilitative therapies have focused on restoring normal motor function to relieve the pain. However, conflicting results left the question of whether and how phantom pain is caused by changes in sensorimotor activity unanswered.

In a new study, researchers based at Osaka University reported on their use of brain-machine interface (BMI) training with a robotic hand on 10 phantom limb patients to investigate the association between changes in symptomatic pain and cortical currents during phantom hand movements. The BMI decodes the cortical signals that instruct the affected hand to move. It then converts this decoded phantom hand movement into movement of the robotic neuroprosthesis. Previous research has shown that BMIs can precisely decode hand movements in real time.

Patients were asked to either open the robotic hand or grasp with it. The cortical currents activated by hand movements were measured using magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals. Results were compared with movement of the intact hand to check that motor information obtained from the sensorimotor cortex was specific. As expected, training with the prosthesis partially restored functioning of the affected hand and increased motor activity in the cortex. However, unexpectedly, participants reported a significant increase in the sensation of pain.

This approach provided a method for inducing localized changes in cortical activity and directly and reversibly studying the relationship with pain.

Indeed, when the patients were asked to move the phantom hand based on MEG signals decoded from movement of the intact hand, cortical sensorimotor activity was disrupted, reducing pain. In contrast with what was previously thought, these findings showed that pain is not reduced by reconstruction of motor function but by changes in cortical plasticity.

Five study participants found that BMI training reduced pain more than previous therapies, suggesting that this is a promising approach for treating phantom limb pain. The training also reduced pain from residual surgery in some patients, therefore may be used to treat other chronic pain conditions.

###

Media Contact

Saori Obayashi
[email protected]
81-661-055-886
@osaka_univ_e

http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Five or more hours of smartphone usage per day may increase obesity

July 25, 2019
IMAGE

NASA’s terra satellite finds tropical storm 07W’s strength on the side

July 25, 2019

NASA finds one burst of energy in weakening Depression Dalila

July 25, 2019

Researcher’s innovative flood mapping helps water and emergency management officials

July 25, 2019
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    84 shares
    Share 34 Tweet 21
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    72 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • Scientists Discover and Synthesize Active Compound in Magic Mushrooms Again

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    52 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Insights into Day Program Treatment for Anorexia Caregivers

Key Insights on End-of-Life Communication in Nursing

Unveiling Cacna1e Splice Variants’ Functional Diversity

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 63 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.