06: Phantoms

The chapter that I focused on from Oliver Sacks book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinic Tales” was chapter six, Phantoms. Phantoms are described in the book as a memory for a limb that is no longer there (Sacks, 1985). Many people, who have had an amputation, whether it is a leg, arm, or hand, will commonly have this sense that the limb is still there and we even experience pain in the missing limb. Oliver Sacks goes on to describe four different cases of phantom limbs and the symptoms and effects associated with the chronic sensation.

One of the cases that Sacks talks about is a sailor who accidentally cut off his finger and was experiencing symptoms of a phantom limb. The man would have feelings in this right index finger, which had been cut off, years after the accident had happened. He had feelings that his finger, although no longer there, would poke at his eye when he would go to touch his face. (Sacks, 1985). The man was well aware that this action could not happen and would be impossible but still experienced the sensation.

The areas of the brain that are responsible for phantom limb symptoms is damage to the parietal lobes or damage to spinal – nerve roots. Damage to either of these areas can cause phantoms; Sacks believed that peripheral damage, spinal – nerve roots were more to blame in the case of phantoms. An interesting occurrence from the case study of the sailor is that when he experienced a diabetic neuropathy, damage to the nerves as a result to diabetes, and he no longer had phantoms in his fingers and actually had no sensation in any of his fingers at all; this could be thought of as a possible “cure” for phantoms.

In further explanation about phantoms and why they occur, Sacks gives a very reasonable and logical reason as to the purpose of phantoms in missing limbs. When an individual has had a limb amputated, the phantom and the continuing feeling of the limb still being there is helpful in case a prosthetic is needed. Still being able to have feeling for the limb will make the transition of using a prosthetic easier and possible. In the book, this use for the phantom is described as, a man who has an amputated leg, that he has a “good phantom” and that this is what helps him walk with the prosthesis (Sacks, 1985). The experience of phantom limbs seems to be a very common thing after an individual as had an amputation. There are many more case studies about this condition and individuals will display those same kinds of symptoms and effects.

Art portion: I drew an image of the brain and part of the spinal cord. I have indicated the areas with a (*) that if damaged will result in phantoms: the parietal lobe and spinal-nerve roots.

References:

Sacks, O. (1985). The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. New York, NY: Touchstone.