Motor imagery in spinal cord injury with neuropathic pain

Large number of chronic Spinal Cord Injured (SCI) patients suffer from Central Neuropathic (CNP) pain that modifies both spontaneous EEG and Event related EEG responses. The aim of this paper was to analyze on a group level, using clustering approach, differences in EEG signatures between two Groups: the able-bodied persons and SCI patients with CNP during a motor imagination task. Results of this study showed that compared to the able-bodied, SCI patients with pain have lower ERS/ERD in the central and the centro/parietal areas of the motor cortex, which correspond to the paralyzed part of the body and higher event-related synchronization/desynchronisation (ERS/ERD) in the rest of the cortex, including frontal areas, remaining areas of the sensory-motor cortex and the occipital area. Significant differences in Power Spectral Density (PSD) between two Groups were found in 20-30 Hz range, possibly related to the baseline EEG rather then to the mental task.