Cortical Sensorimotor Mechanisms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) remains an elusive, unsolved medical problem.  Current mainstream approaches address the problem at the site of symptoms, but this approach only partially accounts for the causes and effects of CTS.  Growing evidence suggests that CTS impacts not only the nervous system at the hand, but also impacts the brain. We propose that altered representation of the fingers and thumb in the brain can prolong sensory symptoms and make using the hand more difficult which perpetuates the loss of function.  We will compare MRI images of the brain for CTS patients with images for healthy controls.