Imagine a man – refer to him as John* – who lost his left arm after a horrible tractor accident. Shortly after his amputation, John begins feeling strange sensations where his arm previously existed, namely excruciating pain, akin to something ripping his flesh apart. Despite the empty space, he feels his arm; the sensations seem so realistic that he almost believes his arm remains attached to his shoulder. Is John mad? Obviously his left arm no longer exists, so how could he feel pain in that empty space? To the outside world, John appears crazy - a man who cannot healthily cope with the loss of his arm. However, according to Phantom in the Brain by Dr. Ramachandran, John’s sensations stem not from madness, but from a phantom limb; he experiences the sensations of his arm as if it still belonged to his body. Society can better understand, and therefore accept, sufferers of phantom limbs, or similar phenomenon, due to neurological explanations for the conditions.
Ramachandran offers one explanation, which correlates phantom limbs to internal body image. He states, “…your body image, despite all its appearance of durability, is an entirely transitory internal construct that can be profoundly modified with just a few simple tricks. It is merely a shell that you’ve temporarily created for successfully passing on your genes to your offspring” (62). The body exists only as a shell, which can change over time. If the body changes, then the mind does not always adapt to that change, which leads to a phantom limb. John, and other sufferers, experience phantom limb due to internal body image; their mind views their body as it existed in its whole state, despite their missing limb(s). Likewise, Ramachandran treats phantom limb with a mi...
... middle of paper ...
...h the brain views the body, or the sensations, or lack thereof, in their phantom.
A man complaining about pain in an invisible arm, or a woman whose arm feels paralyzed despite its amputation, may appear crazy. If people do not understand their conditions, then it becomes easy to negatively judge them. However, Ramachandran sheds new light on these conditions, especially phantom limb, which occurs in amputees who still feel the presence of their missing limb. This phenomenon happens due to control the brain has over the body, both internally and externally. Neurological explanations include internal body image, brain mapping, and improper brain command feedback, all outlined by Ramachandran. Through these explanations, society can understand and accept those that struggle with phantom limb, or similar phenomenon, and let go of judgment towards these individuals.
Two ideas about the nervous system that can be better understood from these observations are the concepts of having and locating the I-function. It seems that the I-function here is very often affected in terms of voluntary movement. A person with Arnold-Chiari malformation who has lost the feeling in and control of his arm for example will not be able to move it even upon someone's request and his or her own desire to do so. Some use of the I-function is definitely impaired. However, these observations do not seem to necessarily imply that some part of the I-function was damaged, because it may very well be located elsewhere- connections may have simply been lost. A person with Arnold-Chiari can still think and have a sense of self, but somehow can not connect with the various body parts that can be affected. Some uses and pathways of the I-function can be understood, but the exact location of it remains vague.
Phantom pain refers to the phenomenal experience of pain in a body part that has been amputated or deafferented (Flor, Nikolajsen & Jensen, 2006). The characteristics of phantom pain have been described to occur in quick and sudden attacks of pain shooting up and down the amputated limb as well as cases of constant, excruciating pain whilst intensely perceiving the amputated limb to be cramped or postured abnormally (Katz, 1992). Approximately eighty percent of amputees report suffering from or at least experiencing some level of phantom pain post amputation; therefore it is a prominent issue (Flor, Nikolajsen & Jensen, 2006). Phantom pain is neuropathic pain that has no individual trigger but instead a plethora of psychobiological aspects of neuroplasticity that contribute to the cause of phantom pain (Grusser, Diers & Flor, 2003). The following will: outline the role of the peripheral and central factors associated with phantom pain and discuss the cortical reorganisation of the somatosensory cortex in relation to phantom pain.
Carr mentions the affect that technology has on the neurological processes of the brain. Plasticity is described as the brains response through neurological pathways through experiences. The brain regions “change with experience, circumstance, and need” (29). Brain plasticity also responds to experiences that cause damage to the nervous system. Carr explains that injuries in accidents “reveal how extensively the brain can reorganize itself” (29).I have heard stories in which amputees are said to have a reaction to their amputated limb; it is known as a phantom limb. These types of studies are instrumental in supporting the claim that the brain can be restructured. Carr asserts that the internet is restructuring our brains while citing the brain plasticity experiments and studies done by other scientists. I have experienced this because I feel like by brain has become accustomed to activities that I do on a regular basis. For example, I rarely realize that I am driving when coming to school because I am used to driving on a specific route.
Sensation, as we know it, is thought to be a result of direct contact between the body and an internal or external stimulus. However, in the case of phantom limb phenomenon, sensation is explained rather differently. The phantom limb phenomenon, in short, occurs when a person with a missing limb still has sensations of limb being there; it is having the perception of missing limbs and feeling sensations from i...
In 1985 the movie going community was enthralled with its newest hit movie titled Short Circuit. The movie portrayed a robot that due to accidental electrocution believed that it was alive. In the final scenes the robot know as Johnny five was seen removing one of its damaged robotic arms and replacing it with a new and identical arm. This idea of replacing one limb with another of equal function was unfortunately only movie fiction. This fiction however is quickly becoming a reality for countless thousands of people living with prosthetic limbs. In the October 1998 issue of Scientific American the story of Melissa Del Pozzo a thirteen year old girl living with a prosthetic limb gives an example of the hope many are living with. Her only dream is that she could one day tickle the ivories of her piano again. Her hope could soon be rewarded. With continued research, prosthesis's are making advancements that were once only dreams. These advancements are seeing the most change in the areas of dexterous movement, feeling, and comfort.
Scientists are on the brink of doing the unthinkable-replenishing the brains of people who have suffered strokes or head injuries to make them whole again. If that is not astonishing enough, they think they may be able to reverse paralysis. The door is at last open to lifting the terrifying sentence these disorders still decree-loss of physical function, cognitive skills, memory, and personality.
I picked an article on the prosthetic limbs, which are controlled by your own thought. The unique part of this prosthetic is that It has 26 joints, is controlled by the person’s own mind and has the power to curl up to a incredible 45 pounds. Imagine being able to control a prosthetic just by thinking about the next move. The limb has been described as Modular, which gives them the power to accommodate anyone in particular that has either the hand missing to the whole entire arm. It can be also used as a surrogate arm for those who have suffered a stroke and lost movement of their own arm. This just an incredible part of science that getting develop and study by John Hopkins University.
Bamford, C. (2006). A multifaceted approach to the treatment of phantom limb pain using hypnosis. Contemporary Hypnosis, 22(3), 115-126.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks is a novel composed of tales of some patients he dealt with while working as a neurologist. The title of the book is derived from a case of a man with visual agnosia, which impairs the ability to recognize visually presented objects. Within this book are twenty-four tales akin to this condition. Amongst them is a story of The Disembodied Lady, which describes Catherine’s unique condition: proprioception. The base example in this case is perception, particularly bodily position and proprioception, while the target example is the protagonist’s disembodiment; her inability to sense her body, as if she was receiving no information form the periphery, and had lost her position senses.
This type of neurological disorder then follows suit into other stories such as “The Man Who Fell Out of Bed” and the “Hands” Story. These two stories are similar with the patient in “The Man Who Fell Out of Bed” believed his leg did not belong to him and calls it a “foreign leg”. Whilst in the “Hands” story Madeleine age 60 is blind with cerebral palsy and found her hands useless lumps of dough. However, in Madeline’s case all her sensory capacities where intact and she was able to restore full sensation in her hands by tricking her into grabbing food when she was
“even bodies are not strictly perceived by the senses or the faculty of imagination but by the intellect alone, and that this perception derives not from their being touched or seen by from their being understood…”
something else there, the mind, that interacts with our bodies and makes us feel, think,
The final category of pain, chronic, presents many challenges to both patients, like Mrs. J, and health-care providers. The pain fails to cease after treatment or even after healing in some cases. The body may be unable to heal as in the amputation of a limb. Pain experienced in the missing limb is known as phantom limb pain (Loeser and Melzack, 1999; Pain Drain, 1999).
M.M. Merzenich, R. N. (1984). Somatosensory cortical map changes following digit amputations in adult monkeys. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 224(4): 591-605.
The previous insert from William Lee Adams’ article, Amputee Wannabes, describes a 33-year-old man’s wish for amputation of his foot. There was nothing physically or medically wrong with this limb; John only stated that he did not feel comfortable with his own body and felt as though his foot was not a part of him. John’s leg was amputated above the knee, and he went on to describe that the operation resolved his anxiety and allowed him to be at ease in his own body (Adams, 2007).