ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of the phantom limb was first described by a sixteenth-century French barber-surgeon, Ambroise, as the vivid perception of an amputated limb. According to, phantom phenomena originate from the persisting activity of the somatosensory neural network, or neuromatrix components, that have been deprived of their normal inputs because of the loss of a body part and the brain's interpretation of this activity as originating from the lost part. The robustness of the body integrity concept has been, however, challenged by the findings of some healthy persons affected by a disorder of body identity called xenomelia or aptomelia. In conclusion, the investigation of phantoms represents an experimental opportunity to investigate how the functional architecture of the brain is able to reorganize itself, even in adulthood, through a process of the emergence of new neural connections, updating based on the changes in sensory inputs.
