Enhanced Tactile (Touch) Spatial Acuity in Upper Limb Amputees
Completed
Conditions studied: Amputation
In brief
This study will examine whether tactile (touch) abilities at the lip are more acute in people with upper limb amputation compared with healthy normal volunteers. People with an amputated upper limb have an expanded brain representation of the lip that may correlate with heightened tactile spatial acuity. Normal volunteers will be recruited for this study. Candidates will be screened with physical and neurological examinations. (Amputee volunteers will be studied at the amputee clinic at the University of Tubingen, Germany.) Participants will sit comfortably in a chair, wearing a blindfold, during the following experiments: * Plastic domes with grooves are placed on parts of the lower lip on either side for a few seconds. The volunteer is then asked to identify the direction of the grooves relative to the long axis of the lip. * The participant's arm is placed in a cast and the index finger is immobilized. The same test done on the lip is repeated on the distal part of the index finger. Each part of the test lasts about 20 minutes, and the entire experiment takes about 2 hours.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00028210
- Run by
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- People needed
- 60
- Starts
- 2001-12-01
- Expected to finish
- 2004-03-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2008-03-04
Who can join
Age: any. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Normal volunteers who are willing and able to stay relaxed and collaborative for a period of up to 2 hours.
- Subjects with upper limb amputation more than one year before testing.
You may not qualify if…
- Neurological or psychiatric disease
- Excessive callus at the palm of the fingers
- Subjects, who are unable to perform or understand the task
Where it is running
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) — Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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