23/12/2024
Sensation is so important for safety, autonomic regulation and quality of life.
We are very proud to share that Professor Sylvia Gustin from NeuRA and UNSW Science, together with Associate Professor Matthew Brodie from UNSW Engineering and Professor Jane Butler from NeuRA and UNSW Medicine & Health, has been awarded a $2.154 million grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC under its Ideas Grant scheme. This funding will support the development of a novel intervention that combines haptic virtual reality with spinal cord neuromodulation to restore touch perception in people with complete paraplegia.
Professor Gustin’s previous research provided the first objective evidence of "dis-complete" spinal cord injury (disc-SCI), revealing that, contrary to prior belief, touch signals can still reach the brain in some individuals with complete SCI. This discovery challenges long-held assumptions that all communication between the body and brain is severed in complete SCI, showing that the brain can still receive sensory signals. It marks a major shift in understanding SCI, demonstrating that even when touch sensation is absent, sensory information from areas like the toes can still reach the brain.
The NHMRC’s Ideas Grant scheme supports innovative research projects aimed at addressing specific health questions. The scheme fosters creative research, supports researchers at all career stages, and promotes health and medical research from discovery to implementation.
