The brain is known as the “final frontier” of science; the nut that is toughest to crack but contains a vast wealth of information, a veritable treasure trove of knowledge that can enrich our understanding of human nature. One of the ways that neuroscientists study the brain is through case studies of what happens when the brain malfunctions – what happens to make the brain operate incorrectly, can we pinpoint the anomalies, and can we correlate neural anomalies to physiological problems. In his book “Phantoms in the Brain”, V.S. Ramachandran takes aim at a particular section of neural problems – phantom limbs – but explores them through the broader scope of neurobiology. In doing so, he provides a comprehensive assessment of reality – its factors, reasons, and inconsistencies, providing the reader with not only an interesting case study in neurobiology but also an altered perception and strengthened understanding of the nature of the self.
Ramachandran begins by directing the reader to the source of phantom limb sensations – the brain, rather than the previous explanation for these sensations, the nerve endings. Within the brain, he isolates and explains the homunculus in great detail, as this is his foundation for the rest of the book. The correlation between phantom limbs and the homunculus is the idea that neural remapping can occur. Ramachandran tests this theory with a neuroimaging technique known as magnetoencephalography (MEG), and uses it to image the brains of arm amputees -- finding that there is significant remapping (31). The key idea put forth in the beginning of the book is that neurons can shift roles – based on injuries and the actions of adjacent neurons -- and he approaches the study of phantom limb sen...
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...f extremely specific case studies how the brain is flexible, has a perceived self image, goes to great lengths to preserve this self-image, and is even willing to fool itself in order to do so. Phantom limbs are presented as the brain’s confabulation mechanism to deny the destruction of a part of the body’s self-image combined with neural remapping that allows the brain to perceive sensation when there is none – a key part of the self-deception mechanism. When the body is damaged, this self-deception occurs so that the brain does not have to entirely alter its existing structure, and the pain felt by phantom limb patients is one of the brain’s mechanisms for deceiving itself. Since pain is fabricated by the brain, fabricating it in conjunction with subconscious psychological denial of the truth of the situation is what, in the end, causes phantom limb sensations.
“Amputees by Choice” written by Bayne and Levy, conists of an unusual topic. Bayne and Levy examine and discuss two basic questions. The first question they look into is the motivations people to have a perfectly healthy limb amputated? The other question concerns what circumstances would a doctor comply with a patients’ wish to get a limb amputated. Along with the other two questions, Levy and Bayne discuss other erratic cases involving the amputation of one’s limbs. More specifically, Levy and Bayne attempt to define and analyze Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). This disorder occurs when people think incorrectly about their healthy limbs. In addition to BDD, Apotemnophiles are sexually attracted to amputees, and are sexually excited by the fact that maybe becoming an amputee as well.
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.
Neuroscientists claim that due to unconscious brain activity, we are “biochemical puppets” (Nahmias). Through experiments conducted by neuroscientists like Itzhak Fried, neural activity is shown to occur before a conscious decision is made. Fried concluded that this was a predetermined occurrence
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.
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.
Bamford, C. (2006). A multifaceted approach to the treatment of phantom limb pain using hypnosis. Contemporary Hypnosis, 22(3), 115-126.
The control center of the human body is none other than the mighty brain. Due to its incredible importance in basic human functioning, both voluntary and involuntary, any injury or trauma to this organ will have a great influence on the body and it's capabilities (Burrus, 2013). Exploring how the brain deals with various injuries and damage proves that the functionality of the brain is fitting to make the brain the power house of the body. But before exploring this with the help of case studies, it is important to first make sense of the the anatomy and functioning of the nervous system as a whole in order to understand how it is affected during injury, the functioning of the body that is lost, the intervention implemented for treatment or rehabilitation and the changes experienced.
" Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 1989, suppl. ,pp. 13-i7. Lees, AJ.
50%-80% of amputees suffer from phantom pain, which is the feeling that an amputated limb is still attached to your body and is in agonizing pain. (Phantom Limb Pain, 2017) Not everyone who has an amputated limb suffers from mental complications, but there is always a possibility that something arises. A study approved by the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) said that three of their five patients “reported superior vitality and mental health. However, the third patient of this group described a reduced social functioning and the fifth patient substandard general health.” The two patients who had problems suffered from problems such as the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance/hope) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Amputee Phantom Limb Pain Relief and Pain Management Testimonials, 2017). On the website Farabloc, amputee victims can talk with others about their difficult experiences in overcoming adversities like phantom knee pain and receive authentic information and advice about what it is like living with the condition. One person explained what phantom pain is like, describing it as “...generally occurring in the end and back of my stump, and consists of pins and needles, burning, itching type of pain…” (Amputee Phantom Limb Pain Relief and Pain Management Testimonials,
The delusion is mostly common in patients diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases; such as Alzheimer’s disease (2% - 30%) [8], schizophrenia (15%) [9] and dementia. It has also been seen in patients suffering from brain injury causing lesions, suggesting that the syndrome has an organic basis.
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.
The brain has four major lobes. The frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, and temporal lobe are responsible for all of the activities of the body, from seeing, hearing, tasting, to touching, moving, and even memory. After many years of debating, scientist presents what they called the localization issue, Garret explains how Fritsch and Hitzig studied dog with conforming observations, but the cases of Phineas Gage’s accident in 1848 and Paul Broca’s autopsy of a man brain in 1861 really grabbed the attention of an enthusiastic scientific community (Garret 2015 p.6)
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...
What causes someone to desire amputation of a healthy limb? This desire was first reported by French surgeon Jean-Joseph Sue in 1785 (Lawrence, 2006). However, this delusion only began to receive public attention in the early 2000s due to the increase in documented cases. Soon thereafter, a psychiatric condition titled Body Integrity Identity D...
M.M. Merzenich, R. N. (1984). Somatosensory cortical map changes following digit amputations in adult monkeys. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 224(4): 591-605.