Neuroscientists are a wacky bunch, but, amazingly, experiments using mirrors on patients with phantom limbs have allowed researchers to learn a lot about how the brain works. Using a "smoke and mirrors" style optical illusion, researchers placed mirrors vertically on a table, and used them to reflected the patient's intact limb-say a hand. This effectively superimposed the reflection of the intact hand onto the side of the phantom limb, so that-to the patient-it looked like they had both hands.
Weirdly, when the intact hand was moved, the patient felt the same movement in the phantom hand-even if the hand had been missing, and no movement had been felt for more than 10 years. When the intact hand was touched, the patient also felt the sensation in the phantom limb. By repeating the procedure several times, some patients felt their phantom limb disappear. Scientists think this effect is due to the plasticity in the brain, and the way it creates new neural pathways after losing a limb. They also think that there is a strong connection between vision and touch in the brain.
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Scary facts 2
RandomYou guys asked for it, so here it is!! Scary facts part 2! Same rules as the first one.
