Sunday, August 7, 2022
OANDP-L
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The O&P EDGE
  • PECOS
  • Magazine
    • Subscription
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • News Archive
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Advertising Information
  • O&P Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • EDGE Advantage
  • O&P Facilities
  • Resources
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • O&P Library
    • The Guide
    • Custom Publications
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Direct
    • Amplitude Media Group
  • PECOS
  • Magazine
    • Subscription
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • News Archive
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Advertising Information
  • O&P Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • EDGE Advantage
  • O&P Facilities
  • Resources
    • Product & Service Directory
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • O&P Library
    • The Guide
    • Custom Publications
    • Advertising Information
    • EDGE Direct
    • Amplitude Media Group
No Result
View All Result
The O&P EDGE Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home News

New Theory for Phantom Limb Pain Points Way to Better Treatment

by The O&P EDGE
September 11, 2018
in News
0
SHARES
6
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Phantom limb pain is a poorly understood phenomenon in which people who have lost a limb can experience severe pain seemingly located in the missing limb. The condition can be seriously debilitating and can drastically reduce the sufferer’s quality of life. But current ideas on its origins cannot explain clinical findings nor provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for its study and treatment.

Image by Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of Technology.

Now, Max Ortiz Catalan, PhD, associate professor at Chalmers University of Technology, has published a paper in Frontiers in Neurology that offers a promising new theory—one that he terms “stochastic entanglement.”

He proposes that after an amputation, neural circuitry related to the missing limb loses its role and becomes susceptible to entanglement with other neural networks—in this case, the network responsible for pain perception.

“Imagine you lose your hand. That leaves a big chunk of ‘real estate’ in your brain, and in your nervous system as a whole, without a job. It stops processing any sensory input; it stops producing any motor output to move the hand. It goes idle—but not silent,” explains Ortiz Catalan.

Neurons are never completely silent. When not processing a particular job, they might fire at random. This may result in coincidental firing of neurons in that part of the sensorimotor network at the same time as from the network of pain perception. When they fire together, that will create the experience of pain in that part of the body.

“Normally, sporadic synchronized firing wouldn’t be a big deal, because it’s just part of the background noise, and it won’t stand out,” continues Ortiz Catalan. “But in patients with a missing limb, such event could stand out when little else is going on at the same time. This can result in a surprising, emotionally charged experience—to feel pain in a part of the body you don’t have. Such a remarkable sensation could reinforce a neural connection, make it stick out, and help establish an undesirable link.”

Through a principle known as Hebb’s Law—”neurons that fire together wire together”—neurons in the sensorimotor and pain perception networks become entangled, resulting in phantom limb pain. The new theory also explains why not all amputees suffer from the condition—the randomness, or stochasticity, means that simultaneous firing may not occur, and become linked, in all patients.

In the new paper, Ortiz Catalan goes on to examine how this theory can explain the effectiveness of Phantom Motor Execution (PME), the novel treatment method he previously developed. During PME treatment, electrodes attached to the patient’s residual limb pick up electrical signals intended for the missing limb, which are then translated through artificial intelligence algorithms into movements of a virtual limb in real time. The patient sees his or her image on a screen with digitally rendered limb in place of the missing one and can control it as if it were his or her own biological limb. This allows the patient to stimulate and reactivate those dormant areas of the brain.

“The patients can start reusing those areas of brain that had gone idle,” explains Ortiz Catalan. “Making use of that circuitry helps to weaken and disconnect the entanglement to the pain network. It’s a kind of inverse Hebb’s law—the more those neurons fire apart, the weaker their connection. Or, it can be used preventatively, to protect against the formation of those links in the first place.”

The PME treatment method has been previously shown to help patients for whom other therapies have failed. Understanding exactly how and why it can help is crucial to ensuring it is administered correctly and in the most effective manner. Ortiz Catalan’s new theory could help unravel some of the mysteries surrounding phantom limb pain and offer relief for some of the most affected sufferers.

To view a video about PME, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek7JHGC-T4E&feature=youtu.be.

This article was adapted from information provided by Chalmers University of Technology.

Related posts:

  1. Augmented Reality Relieves Phantom Limb Pain
  2. Augmented Reality Relieves Phantom Limb Pain
  3. New Research, Tools Center on Treating PLP
  4. Myoelectric Signals, VR Ease Phantom Limb Pain
Previous Post

New Generation of Pain Medications May Offer Fewer Side Effects

Next Post

Amputees, CPs Offer Ideas for Possible Residual Limb Monitoring System

Next Post

Amputees, CPs Offer Ideas for Possible Residual Limb Monitoring System

  • VIEW CURRENT ISSUE
  • SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

RECENT NEWS

News

Quarterly TPE Results Released

by The O&P EDGE
July 27, 2022

The medical review department at Noridian, the Jurisdiction A Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractor (DME MAC), released quarterly results...

Read more

NAAOP To Host Virtual Congressional Fly-in

Research Shows Function Improvements With Multiarticulating Hands

ROMP Hires

Get unlimited access!

Join EDGE ADVANTAGE and unlock The O&P EDGE's vast library of archived content.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY

O&P JOBS

Central

CPO – Orthotics and Prosthetics – Full Time

Pacific

CPO

Central

Were Growing!

 

© 2021 The O&P EDGE

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • EDGE Advantage
  • OANDP-L
  • Subscribe

CONTACT US

866-613-0257

[email protected]

201 E. 4th St
Loveland, CO 80537

The most important industry news and events delivered directly to your inbox every week.

No Result
View All Result
  • PECOS
  • MAGAZINE
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ISSUE ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ARCHIVE
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • ADVERTISING INFORMATION
  • O&P JOBS
    • FIND A JOB
    • POST A JOB
  • EDGE ADVANTAGE
  • FACILITES
  • RESOURCES
    • PRODUCTS & SERVICES DIRECTORY
    • CALENDAR
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT US
    • O&P LIBRARY
    • THE GUIDE
    • CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS
    • ADVERTISING
    • EDGE DIRECT
    • AMPLITUDE
  • OANDP-L
  • LOGIN

© 2021The O&P EDGE

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
The O&P EDGE Magazine
 
Required 'Candidate' login to applying this job. Click here to logout And try again
 

Login to your account

  • Forgot Password? | Sign Up

Reset Password

  • Already have an account? Login

Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. A password reset link will be sent to you by email.

Signup to your Account

  • By clicking checkbox, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

    Already have an account? Login

Close
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
 

Account Activation

Before you can login, you must activate your account with the code sent to your email address. If you did not receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder. Click here to resend the activation email. If you entered an incorrect email address, you will need to re-register with the correct email address.