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Title: In a recent accident, your favorite uncle lost one of his arms just below the el Post by: ppk on Jul 15, 2011 In a recent accident, your favorite uncle lost one of his arms just below the elbow; he sustained no other injuries. The wound has completely healed, yet he is plagued by pain he claims is coming from a hand that is no longer there. Afraid to confide in his doctor, he asks you if he is going insane. What should you tell him? What principles are illustrated by this phenomenon?
Title: Re: In a recent accident, your favorite uncle lost one of his arms just below the el Post by: duddy on Nov 4, 2011 Your uncle still has the surviving parts of the sensory pathway that once served the entire arm. This may include the primary sensory neurons, since the severed axons could have regenerated (but even if these cells degenerated, the remainder of the pathway did not). Anything that stimulates the sensory nerve in the stump may cause signals to go to the area of the cerebral cortex that once received inputs only from the hand. Your uncle is not crazy, rather he is experiencing phantom limb pain, which is very real. This phenomenon illustrates labeled line coding and coding of stimulus location.
Title: Re: In a recent accident, your favorite uncle lost one of his arms just below the el Post by: blogniva on Nov 5, 2011 good :o
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