Identifying Body Awareness-related Brain Network Changes During Cognitive Multisensory Rehabilitation for Reduced Neuropathic Pain in People With Spinal Cord Injury

Cognitive multisensory rehabilitation (CMR) is a type of physical therapy that incorporates conscious perception of body positions and movements during (multi)sensory discrimination exercises. The treating therapists will give 40 minutes of discrimination exercises embedded in functional movements followed by 5 minutes of applying the learned strategies during activities of daily living. CMR uses several types of discrimination exercises: Participants discriminated shapes, length, weight, distance, resistance, textures or compare kinesthetic information with visual information for integration of multisensory information. Solving the discrimination task is combined with reflection and a learning process, prompted by the therapist on how the limb (was) moved or was positioned.

Standard of care treatment for neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

Clinical assessments are detailed below. Screening will include demographic and general health data; mini mental state evaluation (MMSE)-short version; Edinburgh handedness inventory; and the kinesthetic and visual imagery questionnaire (KVIQ).

The MRI scanning will include structural scans, resting-state functional MRI, and 4 task-based functional MRI.

This part is OPTIONAL: 38ml of blood will be taken one time (for able body adults) or at 3 time points (for adults with spinal cord injury and neuropathic pain.