Abstract #1314

Spinal Cord and Brainstem Activation in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Patients in Response to Noxious Stimuli: A Spinal FMRI Study

Jordan K. Leitch¹, Cathy M. Cahill^2,3, Niousha Foad Ghazni⁴, Chase R. Figley⁴, Patrick W. Stroman^1,5

¹Centre for Neuroscience , Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ²Pharmacology & Toxicology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ³Anesthesiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁴Centre for Neuroscience, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁵Diagnostic Radiology & Physics, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating condition which is often refractory to traditional pain medication and treatment. To understand how pain is processed in individuals suffering from neuropathy, we must examine transmission pathways in the spinal cord and brainstem using a neuropathic patient population. Spinal fMRI studies, using a HASTE sequence, were carried out in individuals diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Our findings show that neuropathic pain is associated with neuronal activity in regions that differ from typical pain transmission pathways, indicating that the manner in which neuropathic pain is processed differs from that in healthy controls.