fMRI neurofeedback treatment of phantom pain

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Real-time functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain

• IRAS ID

  181707

• Contact name

  Aleksandra Vuckovic

• Contact email

  aleksandra.vuckovic@glasgow.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Phantom limb pain is a type of Central Neuropathic Pain having prevalence of 80% in amputees and patients with arm paralysis due to Brachial Plexus Injury . Similar to non-painful phantom limb sensation, this pain is created in the brain rather than in the body.
  Therefore modulation of brain activity can potentially lead to reduction of pain. People can learn to voluntary change their brain activity if they are provided an adequate visual information about this activity. This technique is called neurofeedback. Most often electroencephalography (EEG) is used for neurofeedback because a device is relatively small and cheap. Previously our group has tested EEG based neurofeedback for treatment of central neuropathic pain in spinal cord injured patients. A drawback of EEG is that it can record only activity from the surface areas of the brain, while it is known that some deeper areas of the brain are also responsible for chronic pain.
  Functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) is a technique that can provide information about deeper brain structures. In our laboratory we have developed a software for real-time fMRI which provides a user with information about brain activity while it has been recorded. This software can be used for fMRI neurofeedback .
  fMRI neurofeedback is a new filed and there was only a one study which showed potential benefit of this technique on treatment of chronic pain (de Charms et al. 2005, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 102(51);18626-31). That study showed that patients can learn to modulate their brain activity using fMRI in a single daily session. The primary objective of our study is to test whether voluntary modulation of brain activity using real time fMRI results in an immediate reduction of phantom limb pain. The secondary objectives are to compare neurofeedback fMRI providing information from two different areas of brain related to pain and to inform EEG neurofeedback studies

• REC name

  West of Scotland REC 4

• REC reference

  15/WS/0211

• Date of REC Opinion

  16 Nov 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion