When a nerve of the hand is cut, the signalling between the hand and brain is disrupted, and as a consequence, the brain changes. These injuries are extremely common, with significant and longstanding personal and societal costs. Better understanding the links between brain changes and functional recovery holds promise for improving patient outcomes, and reducing these costs. This is the purpose of the proposed research. We will investigate the clinical significance of nerve-trauma-related brain changes in patients who have undergone surgical repairs of the nerve(s) of the hand. Using our established functional MRI and behavioural methods, we expect to identify brain changes in patients that predict poor sensory performance of the injured hand. This research will significantly advance our understanding of the functional consequences of brain changes following nerve damage to the hand, and set the stage for the development of new rehabilitation therapies designed to help reverse these changes.