Disuse-dependent plasticity evoked by hand immobilisation

Background: Use is a major factor driving plasticity of cortical processing and cortical maps. As demonstrated for blind Braille readers and musicians, continuous and long-lasting exceptional usage of the fingers over months and years results in the development of outstanding sensorimotor skills and in defined expansions of the cortical maps representing the fingers. However, little is known how periods of disuse affect cortical representations and parallel perceptual performance in humans. Methods: A group (n=31) of right-handed subjects wearing a plaster cast on one arm was tested with regard to their tactile…