Haunting Limbs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl2LwnaUA-k
The video above is a TED talk of a man named Vilayanur Ramachandran who works primarily with the mind. In this talk, he talks about phantom limb syndrome. I found it very interesting how the mind can psychologically 'feel' a limb that has been removed. It is fascinating that the mind is able to create this pain and discomfort even though the person and can and feel that the limb is not there. This phenomena has to do with the plasticity of the brain. In Psych we learned about how the brain can be plastic, and for the most part, the brain was plastic in a good way. Phantom limb pain is an example of how plasticity can potentially be negative. The brain undergoes something called 'learned pain.' Learned pain results from a limb being immobile for an extended period of time, often stuck in a clenched position. The brain 'learns; this position and once the limbs is removed, continues to express the discomfort from the limb being stuck in that position. This is a good example of how the brain can over power the rest of the body's senses. Even though one can see that there is no arm, unless there is cooperation from the brain, the person could still feel the arm's presence.