Pain and Motor Imagery
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effect of spinal cord injury induced central neuropathic pain on movement related brain activity patterns
IRAS ID
289250
Contact name
Aleksandra Vuckovic
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS Board
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI), induced by damage to the spinal cord, can cause life-altering levels of disability including the development of chronic pain. Central Neuropathic Pain (CNP) typically develops within months after injury in 40-50% of SCI patients, affecting everyday activity, sleep and mood. There is no cure for CNP as a result of its complexity and our current understanding of the affects of CNP on brain activity is limited. As a result it is important to deepen our understanding of the patterns of movement-related activity in SCI related CNP to guide the development of future treatments.
Additionally, given that the previous studies in question did not previously look at CNP as a confounder for lateralisation of activity and brain connectivity, we wish to access these datasets (NCT03257982/NCT01852279) in order to assess the influence of the presence and development of CNP on the cortical activity of the brain.
The aim of this study is to re-examine data collected in these studies to assess how CNP affects the brain activity of SCI patients during imagined or executed movements in different phases of SCI. We wish to compare neurological markers of pain between patients with and without CNP by looking for lateralisation of cortical activity during movement as well as brain connectivity during both movement and resting state activity. A further aim of this study is to use the data to look for markers of CNP based on EEG during movement in order to develop a computer program based on machine learning that will enable more accurate prediction of pain in newly injured patients. Secondary aims involve comparing brain activity in people with SCI with the brain activity of healthy people.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0068
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion