Reduced tactile acuity in chronic low back pain is linked with structural neuroplasticity in primary somatosensory cortex and is modulated by acupuncture therapy.

ABSTRACT: Prior studies have shown that patients suffering from chronic Low Back Pain (cLBP) have impaired somatosensory processing including reduced tactile acuity, i.e. reduced ability to resolve fine spatial details with the perception of touch. The central mechanism(s) underlying reduced tactile acuity are unknown but may include changes in specific brain circuitries (e.g. neuroplasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex, S1). Furthermore, little is known about the linkage between changes in tactile acuity and the amelioration of cLBP by somatically-directed therapeutic interventions, such as acupuncture. In this longitudinal neuroimaging study, we evaluated healthy control adults (HC, N ​= ​50) and a large sample of cLBP patients (N ​= ​102) with structural brain imaging (T1-weighted MRI for

SUBMITTER: Kim H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7395964 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature