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| Belgrade Hand |
Neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have suggested that is it possible to evoke the feeling of having a phantom limb on a healthy, normal person. Experiencing a phantom limb is a vivid sensation that the missing limb is still present. It is like imagining a body part that you do not have, or have lost. The elaborate study includes eleven different experiments and over two-hundred volunteers. The way for scientist to prove that non-amputees can experience a phantom limb is to hide the limb from the volunteers sight and to do something, like tickling, to their real limb, while also doing the same thing in the clear sight of the person. In less than a minute, the participant's brain transferred the sensation of touch, on their real limb, to the region of empty space, their phantom limb. The brain is an amazing organ, and the researchers are hoping their results will offer insight into future research on phantom pain in amputees.
NOS Themes:
- Science is collaborative- many scientists have been working on this.
- Science is base on evidence- the neuroscientists have collected tons of data.
- Person's view and experience can influence data- everyone's brain is different, so they might perceive the sense of touch differently.
- Conflicts within the scientific community- there are many people in the world that are amputees.
- Role of motivation and curiosity- many people are very curious to see if the experience of having a phantom limb can be replicated.
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