Illusory touch temporarily improves sensation in areas of chronic numbness: a brief communication.

BACKGROUND Creating the visual illusion of touch can improve tactile perception in healthy subjects. OBJECTIVE We were interested in seeing if creating the illusion of touch in an insensate area could improve sensation in that area. METHODS Fourteen people with chronic numbness participated in a randomized crossover experiment. The 4 conditions were the following: (a) stimulation over the unaffected limb with mirror visual feedback (experimental condition), (b) stimulation over the affected limb with mirror visual feedback, (c) stimulation over the unaffected limb without mirror visual feedback, and (d) stimulation over the affected limb without mirror visual feedback. Participants were assessed before and after each condition using the Ten-Test and mechanical detection thresholds. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models. RESULT Only the experimental condition produced a change in the Ten-Test (mean difference = -1.1; 95% confidence interval = -1.8 to -0.4; P = .003), corresponding to a 24% improvement in sensation. No differences were observed for any condition in mechanical detection thresholds. CONCLUSION Creating the illusion of touch may improve sensory function in areas of chronic numbness. This preliminary finding adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of techniques that directly target cortical function in people with peripheral nerve injury.