What can phantom limb pain teach us about the human brain - Essay Example

?What can phantom limb pain teaches about the human brain Introduction Phantom limbs are legs or arms, for instance, removed in the cause of an accident or by the operation by a surgeon but continue to linger in the minds of the patients indefinitely. In most cases, the patients or people with the phantom limbs experience excruciating and intense pain in the phantom arm, leg, and hand. This pain is very intense and the worst thing is that it is both unrelenting and untreatable. This has led to more than one cause of patients contemplating suicide and even having doubt whether they will live long in their lifetimes (Bruce, 2011). The phantom limbs scenario has been there since antiquity since there is considerable evidence of folklore associated with the phantom limbs. According to Darting (2013), it is documented and researched that approximately 99 % of patients with these amputated arms, legs, or other body parts experience and are accustomed to the phantom pain. The question that most scientists ask is why the mind cannot accept the loss and consequently reshape its bodily image. This only proves that the images of the body or other associated mind elements and aspects are firmly and strongly laid down by the genetic material in them that they cannot change in the face of an amputation. Thesis statement The phantom limb can teach so much about the human brain. According to Ramachandran (1999), the phantom limb pain is the cause by brain changes. He argues that the phantom limb pain is not caused in the widely believed peripheral nerves that exist near the phantom limbs. This means basically that the phantom limb has a lot to teach the entire science fraternity about the human brain. This is the thesis statement. Sensation perception module Starting with the differentiated aspects that revolve around perception and the sensation, it is important to note that these two aspects have to do with all about the phantom limbs. In the field of psychology, perception and sensation are stages that are associated with the senses processing of the animal and human systems. The different senses are auditory, vision, vestibular, and the pain one. The pain one is the one that is concern in this aspect since it is the sense that is felt in regard to the phantom limb scenario. The pain process in the brain greatly and significantly affects the perception of a person’s stimulus reaction. Sensation is simply the function of low-level neurological and biochemical events that start with impinging of a specific stimulus on the receptor cells of a specified sensory organ (Mandik, 2010). In regard to the phantom limbs, it is primarily the detection of elementary properties of the stimulus that is initiated by the phantom limb pain. The perception of the phantom limb pain is the reaction that is elicited by the patients due to the excruciating pain. Perception is simply the mental state or process representing the understanding and awareness of the real-world as a result of the input by the sensory element. The ultimate goal of sensation is the detection while that of perception is simply creation of useful information about the patient’s surrounding. The phantom limb pain is registered in the human brain when the receptor cells receive the stimulus. The brain exhibits the intense pain associated with the amputated limb and this makes the person to perceive it as the missing leg, finger, or arm. This in the end makes the different sensory cells to still try to function as though the amputated leg, arm, or finger is still existent and this result to the phantom limb pain. What can phantom limb pain teaches about the human brain According to Ramachandran and Blakesleee (1998), the phantom limb pain is the cause by brain changes. He has argued like many other neuroscientists that the phantom limb pain is not caused in the widely believed peripheral nerves that exist near the phantom limbs. The phantom limb originates from the ideology that inside the brain there exist a full map of the entire body surface. This map is believed to exist on the surface of the brain. This means simply that each and every point that exists on the surface of the body has a corresponding specific point on the brain. The peculiar aspect about this is that instead of the face area of the map being near the neck where is should be located, it is located right next to the hand area. Ramachandran argues that the once an arm or leg is amputated, the brain area mapped out for the specific arm or leg becomes deprived of its sensory inputs. These are the sensory input that it is designed to be receiving. This makes this specific part of the brain becomes hungry for the sensory inputs that it is now missing. If this research by Ramachandran is anywhere near true, it means that the brain map face area will automatically invade the territory that corresponds to the brain map hand area. The resultant action of touching the face will activate the hand area sensation located in the brain. This in result will make the patients feel pain in their bodies. The intense the activation, the more increased the degree of pain that is experienced by the patient or victim. This is why kit is termed as excruciating pain since most of the time the hunger that exist in the brain part for the sensory inputs from the amputated arm or leg is usually intense (Wager, 2013). This results to increased level of activation in the sensations in the hand area of the brain causing intense pain. Ramachandran researches According to Ramachandran (2012), phantom limb pain teaches a lot about the human brain as seen in experimental research. Ramachandran blindfolded various patients so that they will be unaware where he was touching them. Ramachandran touched various differentiated part so their bodies. The result is that when Ramachandran touched a patient’s limb on the amputated side of his/her body, the patient confirmed that he/she could feel a sensational feeling in the missing phantom limb. The sensational feelings are felt when the hands of Ramachandran touch the patient’s face. This part that is touched is that part linked by the map to the amputated part of the body. This makes the person feel as if he/she has an arm that needs to respond either by stretching, shaking or performance of other movements. Ramachandran said that this experiment proved that the human brain is constantly and occasionally remapping itself as the patient grows and ages. What people learn such as medical students from the researches from a decade or two ago is that there exist connections in the fetal brain that are usually fixed during fetal or infancy life by genes or genetic material. These particular fetal brain connections have an impact which is that as one grows into adulthood, the specified maps crystallize and remain impacted there permanently. According to Ramachandran, this can be proved not to be true. This is simply because even the basic and simplified sensory map in the brain usually gets completely and automatically reorganized in a just a matter of few weeks. This means it is designed to automatically remap itself. This theory challenges the dogma that is taught to various medical students that no particular new connections or associated pathways can spring out or emerge in the adult brain. Ramachandran asserts that that was the documented news 10 or 15 years ago before his researches cam into life. Apparently, it is not true. Phantom limb pain teaches various aspects about the human brain According to Ramachandran (2012), in a different article book, it is now clear that the phantom limb pain originates from the brain. This good thing about this all is that the brain can be remapped and this can help to solve the issue of the excruciating pain that comes with the phantom limb problem. Ramachandran learned that the brain can be tricked in order to unlearn the pain that comes with the associated phantom limbs. This can be done by a process that is now termed ass the learned paralysis or the learned pain. The learned paralysis is the process of allowing the brain to sends its commands to the phantom limb and have the commands received by the phantom limb (Romeo, 2010). This means that the phantom limb will actually move. The question is how the phantom limb will move when it is non-existent. The answer, according to Ramachandran, is the use of a mirror. The patient will place his/her existing limb in front of a mirror. When the patient begins to move his/her limbs, for instance, the hands, the brain will be triggered to assume the limbs have returned. This will be caused by the patient’s visual illusion of the phantom limb, in this case the hand, is obeying his/her command. This will be very applicable since the amputated hand feels like it is there and also looks like it is there on the body of the patient (Frith, 2009). This will reduce the pain associated with the phantom limb. Additionally, the phantom limb pain will prove that the brain can be triggered to elicit sensations that are none existence. This in the end make the resultant action that is perceived by the brain cells, to actually happen. Conclusion In regard to this mirror experiment by Ramachandran, the brain is noted to receptor cells that only register information from sensory units as perceived by the human being. This means that if commands are sent from the brain to the amputated arm and the person acknowledges that he/she has no arm, this will lead to excruciating pain. It the person believes that he/she possesses the amputated limb, as in the mirror research experiments, this will trick the brain which will respond according thinking that the phantom limbs have returned. References Ramachandran, V., S. (1999). Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind. New York: HarperCollins. Ramachandran, V., S. (2012). The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human. Manhattan: W. W. Norton & Company Incorporated. Mandik, P., (2010). Key Terms in Philosophy of Mind Continuum Key terms in philosophy Key Terms Key terms in philosophy. Vancouver: Continuum. Ramachandran, V., S. & Blakesleee, S., (1998). Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature And the Architecture of the Mind 4th. Popular science. Fulham Palace: Fourth Estate. Ramachandran, V., S. (2012). The Tell-Tale Brain: Unlocking the Mystery of Human Nature. Manhgattan: Random House. Frith, C., (2009). Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Wager, K., A. (2013). Health Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach for Health Care Management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Bruce, M., H. (2011). USA TODAY Health Reports: Diseases and Disorders Series USA today health reports. London: Twenty-First Century Books. Darting, M., (2013). 100 Statements about Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind That Almost Killed My Hamster. New York: Kniga po Trebovaniyu. Romeo, P., (2010). Phantom Stress: Brain Training to Master Relationship Stress. Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation. Read More