Active clinical trials for "Illusions"

Previous studies have shown that the neuroplasticity of the residual corticospinal fibers, the motor cortex and the spinal neurons plays an important role in the spontaneous functional recovery of people with neurological or musculoskeletal pathology. However, it is also possible to stimulate the neuroplasticity mechanisms of these structures through techniques aimed at rehabilitating different deficits (for example, motor function or sensitivity). In general, intervention programs are usually carried out, in most cases, using low-cost strategies such as therapeutic physical exercise programs. The objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of visual illusion therapies in combination with conventional exercises on the symptoms and signs related to incomplete spinal cord injury that affects the upper limb. The study will include the realization of three measurements that will be carried out one day before starting the program, one day after finishing it, and one month later (follow-up). The clinical assessment will be composed of the study of the following variables: Motor function and motor skills, Upper limb isometric force, Muscle activation, Muscle tone, Quality of life, Functionality. All interventions will last eight weeks and will be planned according to the availability of volunteers. In each session, it will be recorded if any type of adverse effect occurs. There will be four types of interventions: i. Visual Illusion (IV) and therapeutic exercise program (PE), ii.placebo and PE, iii. IV, iv. IV placebo.

The concept of body image can be described as "the intentional content of consciousness comprising perceptions, attitudes and beliefs relating to one's body". Over the years, there has been a growing interest in this topic, highlighting that body image can be distorted in people suffering from pain conditions, especially in the case of chronic pain. One way of modulating the perception of pain through the perception of body image is through the use of interventions based on visual feedback. In this regard, some studies have highlighted the possibility of reducing the perception of pain in healthy and clinical populations with the use of "illusions" of one's own body created through immersive virtual reality. For example, through the use of synchronous visual-tactile multisensory stimulation on one's own face / body and on that of others (fake body), is possible to induce illusions of self-recognition in other fake bodies. In the case of the face, this type of illusion of belonging of other faces is commonly known as the "enfacement illusion", through which is possible to change or modulate the self-representation, with important implications for all those subjects who have distorted body representations, such as patients suffering from chronic pain. The main goal of the present protocol is to evaluate the effects of an experimental treatment based on enfacement illusion on the perception of pain (VAS scale) with respect to a control condition (pleasant virtual environment exposure). The secondary objective is to study any correlations between pain and body image, personal, clinical and psychological intrapersonal variables. One-hundred patients with chronic headache will be randomly assigned to the two conditions: experimental group (based on the "enfacement illusion") and control group (exposed to a pleasant virtual environment). Both conditions include an immersive virtual reality treatment of 3 sessions of 15 minutes each, during one week.

Background. Large burns are the cause of extensive skeletal muscle devastation. The possibilities of rehabilitation of such patients are very limited, which contributes to the risk of metabolic failure and long-term musculoskeletal disorders. Illusory movements are a relatively new method of physiotherapy, which through functional proprioceptive stimulation enables the integration and networking of muscle units and has a neurotrophic effect on the cerebral cortex. In our pilot study, we demonstrated that illusory movements significantly increased basal energy expenditure in extensively burned patients in a catabolic state and with healing impairment in the later stage of burn disease. However, the metabolic effects of illusory movements have not yet been studied. Tested hypotheses. 1. The use of illusory movements is suitable for the rehabilitation of patients with burns on 20% or more of the total body surface area (TBSA) in the early phase of the burn disease. 2. The use of illusory movements in these patients attenuates the extent of muscle catabolism. Method. Pragmatic crossover study. Twenty patients with burns on 20% or more of the body surface area will be divided into two groups. They will be rehabilitated early or delayed by illusory movements for 14 days. Among other things, the following metabolic parameters will be monitored: nitrogen balance, basal and resting energy expenditure (BMR, REE), insulin resistance (IR), myokinins levels, muscle mitochondrial function and their morphology, and ultrasound cross-sectional diameter of the rectus femoris muscle. The control group will consist of ten healthy volunteers, in whom resting energy expenditure before and after using illusory movements exercise will be measured.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) combined with watching a visual illusion on chronic pain due to spinal cord injury. The investigators hypothesize that active tDCS will reduce pain in subjects with spinal cord injury when compared to sham stimulation. The investigators will also measure changes in EEG data (alpha and beta frequencies) as well as motor cortex excitability.

The goal of this observational study is to compare the strength of the incorporation according to the type of prosthesis (aesthetic, mechanical, myoelectric) with the experience the illusion of the rubber hand. The investigators will replace is the rubber by the patient's prothesis. The population will be people with upper arm amputation above the hand and they will be their own comparation. Participants will do the the experience the illusion of the rubber hand in asynchronic and synchronic way and to answer questionnaries.

The study aims to test the hypothesis that rTMS in the form of theta burst stimulation (TBS) over the ipsilateral and contralateral motor cortices can modulate mirror illusion-induced rhythm suppression while observing unilateral arm movement in stroke individuals. The investigators further hypothesize that this intervention will lead to the revision of interhemispheric asymmetry. Finally, this study will also explore the longitudinal relationship between rhythm suppression and motor recovery as indicated by motor excitability in the form of MEP. The results of this study will provide significant new information regarding neurophysiological motor relearning mechanisms which could inform the development and evaluation of innovative treatments for individuals with stroke

Virtual reality systems or simulators are more and more frequently used in the field of learning but also in motor rehabilitation. One of the key points of the success of these systems is the experience of "presence" which is associated with the capacity of these technologies to develop in the observer, who is static, the sensation of moving in the virtual environment (vection). However, the simulation generates a sensory conflict (an optical flow specifying self-motion and vestibular stimuli specifying body immobility). This conflict influences the temporal characteristics of the vection and consequently modifies the way users act in their virtual environment. Thus, contrary to a real situation, vection does not occur instantaneously with the appearance of a visual movement. Moreover, the visual stimulus often generates alternating periods of perception of movement of the environment and of oneself (bistable perception) which can lead to "simulator sickness", a disabling situation for the user. Thus, as vection is an essential element to allow an "optimal transfer of learning" from the simulator to reality, it may be important to promote its emergence while limiting its bistability. The aim of this project is to study the inhibitory or facilitative modulation of the emergence of the vection phenomenon by the use of non-invasive cortical stimulation techniques (transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), transcranial alternative current stimulation (tACS), and repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of a combination of two procedures: (1) Bodily Illusion (BI) and (2) Transcranial direct electrical stimulation (tDCS) on neuropathic pain.

The study hypothesis is that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) combined with virtual leg illumination (provided through a wearable headset (OculusRift, OculusVR, Irvine, CA) and a custom-designed virtual reality leg scenario) will lead to controlled analgesia induction, boosting analgesic effects obtained with standard SCS treatments and will further be associated with changes in the perception of the affected body part.

Two movement illusion techniques can currently be used in clinical practice for motor rehabilitation after stroke hemiplegia: visual illusion (mirror therapy) and proprioceptive illusion (tendon vibration). Mirror therapy, in its computerized version (IVS3, Dessintey, Saint-Etienne, France), is based on the substitution of the deficient visual feedback by a visual feedback of a correctly realized movement. The proprioceptive illusion is based on the external application of a vibrator on muscle tendons at a frequency between 50 and 120 Hz. These two techniques are currently used independently. They are, in theory, complementary and additive. No study has described the combinatorial properties of the illusions generated by these 2 techniques in hemiplegic subjects and healthy subjects.