NCT02739646

The Representation of the Sensibility of the Breast on the Somatosensory Cortex

The Representation of the Sensibility of the Breast on the Somatosensory Cortex Using 7 Tesla fMRI: A Pilot Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: Maastricht University Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Rationale: The representation of the breast on the somatosensory cortex has not been precisely located. Therefore, a pilot study with healthy subjects is needed to localize the sensibility of the breast on the somatosensory cortex with the use of a 7 Tesla fMRI. Objective: To determine the exact localization of the representation of the sensibility of the breast and nipple-areola complex on the somatosensory cortex. Secondly, to assess whether there are differences in representation between individuals of the same sex and between both sexes. Study design: A single center pilot study carried out in the Maastricht University Medical Center, the Netherlands. Study population: A total of 10 female and 10 male healthy individuals will be recruited. Intervention: Every subject will undergo a functional MRI scan with stimulators applied to the bare breast in a fixed pattern. These stimulate the skin and sensory nerves of the breast and nipple-areola complex in a random sequence. Main study parameters: The hemodynamic response after stimulation of the skin of the breast and nipple-areola complex, representing neuronal activity in that region, is measured. Within the somatosensory cortex (S1 and S2), the temporo-spatial brain activity patterns after the various stimulation conditions are assessed, and the representation of the breast on the somatosensory cortex is mapped.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Functional MRI scan	7.0 Tesla functional MRI scan

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-07-13
• Primary completion: 2018-01-17
• Completion: 2018-01-17
• First posted: 2016-04-15
• Last updated: 2018-02-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Netherlands