New Research Challenges Long-Held Beliefs About Phantom Limbs and Brain Maps
TL;DR Summary
A new study published in Nature Neuroscience challenges the long-held belief that the brain's body map reorganizes itself after limb amputation. Researchers found that the brain's representation of the missing limb remains stable even years after amputation, which has implications for understanding phantom limb sensations and developing prosthetic technologies. The findings suggest that therapies targeting brain map reorganization may be ineffective, and future approaches should focus on nerve signaling and brain-computer interfaces.
- Scientists have been wrong about phantom limbs for decades – new study The Conversation
- In the brain, a lost limb is never really gone NPR
- Stable cortical body maps before and after arm amputation Nature
- The Brain’s Map of the Body Is Surprisingly Stable—Even after a Limb Is Lost Scientific American
- Phantom limb study rewires our understanding of the brain National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov)
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