Hand and brain - fMRI studies

It is known since long that the hand has a very large representation in somatosensory as well as motor cortex. However, it is also well known from primate experiments that this representation is not static but is dependent on activity and sensory inflow from the periphery. For instance, anaesthesia or amputation results in rapid cortical reorganisations so that the projection of the anaesthetised or amputated body part diminishes and becomes occupied by expanding adjacent cortical areas. On the other hand, increased activity and increased sensory inflow, such as intense use of a finger or a hand, leads to expansion of the corresponding cortical projection.

We are interested in the interaction between the hand and brain in various situations, such as anaesthesia, nerve injury (adults and children), immobilisation and training. We are using fMRI techniques to study cortical reorganisational process. In addition, we presently develop techniques to examine dorsal root ganglia volumes. In this context we are cooperating with the Department of Radiophysics at Malmö University Hospital (Jonas Svensson, Andreas Weibull), Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Lund University Hospital, Department of Radiation Physics, Lund