phantom of the cortex essays

phantom of the cortex essays The phenomenon known as the phantom limb is very intriguing in the world of neurology. It has been, and continues to be heavily debated among scientists as to the causes of these phantom sensations and phantom pains. Amputee victims have an 80-90% likelihood of experiencing the phantom limb (Sidebotham, 1996). The sensations of pain consist of stabbing, cramping, burning, and shooting pains (Sidebotham, 1996). Although these irritations are common and often progressive, research has undergone many steps in discovering treatments for the pain. Unfortunately the phantom pain is not like chicken pox, but more like arbitrary occurrences. It can arise right after amputation or even years later. What happens is the patient feels sensations where the arm or leg used to be as if it were still present (Price, 2002). To add to the irritability of the phantom limb, not all sensations are of pain. Some are recognizable as if their limb were still there and accompanied by all its sensati ons; warmth, tingling, itching, and movement (Sidebotham, 1996). These non-painful sensations are the ones that usually occur soon after the amputation and continue throughout life. Research has found that the phantom limb targets those areas of the body which are most sensitive (Melzack, 1999). This includes the fingers (especially the thumb and index finger), feet, knees and elbows, forearm, lower leg, and upper thigh and upper arm in that order. The phantom limb has been around for many centuries and is now over the past two decades- only beginning to shed light on theories of the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery nervous system (PNS). In the 16th century a French doctor, Ambroise Pare, came about describing the event of the phantom limb. The term Phantom Limb was later coined by Dr. Wier Mitchell on the first publication of such an account (McVeigh, 2000). This happened after the American Civil War where a my...