Phantom Lower Limb as a Perceptual Marker of Neural Plasticity in the Mature Human Brain

Three lower limb amputees, who reported phantom sensations, referred somatic stimuli delivered to skin regions proximal to the stump to select points on the phantom limb. Stimuli on the rectum and anus (e. g. during defecation) and on genital areas (e. g. during sexual intercourse) induced analogous...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 1994-03, Vol.255 (1344), p.273-278
Main Authors: Aglioti, Salvatore, Bonazzi, Andrea, Cortese, Feliciana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Amputation
Amputees
Brain - physiology
Brain - physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Female
Humans
Leg - innervation
Lower extremity
Middle Aged
Neuronal Plasticity
Neuroplasticity
Perception
Phantom Limb
Physiological stimulation
Sensation
Somatosensory cortex
Somatosensory Cortex - physiology
Somatosensory Cortex - physiopathology
Somatosensory perception
Upper extremity
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Summary:Three lower limb amputees, who reported phantom sensations, referred somatic stimuli delivered to skin regions proximal to the stump to select points on the phantom limb. Stimuli on the rectum and anus (e. g. during defecation) and on genital areas (e. g. during sexual intercourse) induced analogous, although less precise, mislocation to the phantom limb. Although the representation of the stump in the somatosensory pathway is lateral to that of the amputated lower limb, both anus and genitals are mapped medially to the areas formerly subserving the amputated lower limb. Therefore the mislocalization phenomenon can be considered as a perceptual landmark of new functional connections between the deprived areas and the adjacent ones, thus suggesting a dynamic neural remodelling in the mature nervous system, which was previously considered as a static entity.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.1994.0039