Supernumerary phantom limb refers to a condition where the affected individual believes and receives sensory information from limbs of the body that do not actually exist, and never have existed, on the contrary to phantom limb

Phantom limb

A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and is moving appropriately with other body parts. 2 out of 3 combat veterans report this feeling. Approximately 60 to 80% of individuals with an amputation experience phantom sensations in their...

s, which appear after an individual has had a limb removed from the body and still receives input from it.

Some research into this area using brain-mapping technology reported that at one time, a subject was able to see and feel a phantom left arm. She was put into a brain-mapping piece of equipment to test this theory. She was told to touch her right cheek with the phantom limb. During the process, she told the observers when she started to move her arm, there was increased activity in the motor cortex

Motor cortex

Motor cortex is a term that describes regions of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary motor functions.-Anatomy of the motor cortex :The motor cortex can be divided into four main parts:...

 of her brain, in the area to suggest the left arm. When she touched the phantom limb to her cheek and announced she did so, the observers were surprised to find that the area of the somatosensory cortex had a fluxation of increased energy in the area that corresponded to the right cheek.

Affected areas of the brain

• Motor cortex
  Motor cortex
  Motor cortex is a term that describes regions of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary motor functions.-Anatomy of the motor cortex :The motor cortex can be divided into four main parts:...
  
  
• Somatosensory (visual) cortex
  Postcentral gyrus
  The lateral postcentral gyrus is a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain and an important landmark. It is the location of primary somatosensory cortex, the main sensory receptive area for the sense of touch...
  
  
• Tactile (touch) controlling areas
  Trigeminal lemniscus
  The Trigeminal lemniscus is a part of the brain that conveys tactile, pain, and temperature impulses from the skin of the face, the mucous membranes of the nasal and oral cavities, and the eye, as well as proprioceptive information from the facial and masticatory muscles...
  
  

See also

• Body integrity identity disorder
  Body integrity identity disorder
  Body Integrity Identity Disorder , formerly known as Amputee Identity Disorder, is a psychological disorder wherein sufferers feel they would be happier living as an amputee...
  
   (BIID)
• Supernumerary body part
  Supernumerary body part
  Supernumerary body parts are most commonly a congenital disorder involving the growth of an additional part of the body and a deviation from the body plan. Body parts may be easily visible or hidden away, such as internal organs....
  
   – having an extra limb
• Species dysphoria
  Species dysphoria
  Species dysphoria is the experience of dysphoria, sometimes including dysmorphia, associated with the feeling that one's body is the wrong species. Earls and Lalumière describe it as "the sense of being in the wrong body... a desire to be an animal"...
  
  , the experience of feeling parts of the body associated with a different species

External links

• "Voluntary amputation and extra phantom limbs" at ScienceBlogs
  ScienceBlogs
  ScienceBlogs is an invitation-only blog network and virtual community. It was created by Seed Media Group in 2006 to enhance the public understanding of science. , ScienceBlogs hosted 75 blogs dedicated to various fields of research. Each blog has its own theme, specialty, and author and is not...