Article

Bodily sensations are an important component of corporeal awareness.
Spinal cord injury can leave affected body parts insentient and unmoving, leading
to specific disturbances in the mental representation of one's own body and the
sense of self. OBJECTIVE: Here, we explored how illusions induced by multisensory
stimulation influence immediate sensory signals and tactile awareness in patients
with spinal cord injuries. METHODS: The rubber hand illusion paradigm was applied
to 2 patients with chronic and complete spinal cord injury of the sixth cervical
spine, with severe somatosensory impairments in 2 of 5 fingers. RESULTS: Both
patients experienced a strong illusion of ownership of the rubber hand during
synchronous, but not asynchronous, stroking. They also, spontaneously reported
basic tactile sensations in their previously numb fingers. Tactile awareness from
seeing the rubber hand was enhanced by progressively increasing the stimulation
duration. CONCLUSIONS: Multisensory illusions directly and specifically modulate
the reemergence of sensory memories and enhance tactile sensation, despite (or as
a result of) prior deafferentation. When sensory inputs are lost, and are later
illusorily regained, the brain updates a coherent body image even several years
after the body has become permanently unable to feel. This particular example of
neural plasticity represents a significant opportunity to strengthen the sense of
the self and the feelings of embodiment in patients with spinal cord injury.

Langue : ANGLAIS