On Sat, 17 Apr 1999, Gary Peterson wrote:
> Thanks Jeff, for the phantom smell article. I wonder if there are ways
> to induce phantom sensory experiences for classroom demos <snip>
I also appreciated Jeff's posting. In answer to the question, while
hardly suitable for classroom demonstration, Melzack and Bromage
(1973) did produce phantom limbs experimentally. No, they didn't saw
anyone's arm off. They studied patients who had to have their arms
anesthetized for elective surgery. With their eyes closed, and with
their arms insensitive and paralyzed, the subjects (94%) nevertheless
experienced the powerful illusion of a limb, generally at a position
different from its real position. The experimenters could move the
limb to a new position to maximize the discrency. However, if the
subject was allowed to look at his anesthetized arm, he was
"astonished" by the discrepancy, and the phantom and the real arm then
"fused".
I wonder whether there's been any more recent work on this topic.
-Stephen
Melzack, R., & Bromage, P. (1973). Experimental phantom limbs.
Experimental neurology, 39, 261-269.
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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