ABSTRACT
While the primary focus of this book is the application of advances in cognitive neuroscience to understanding and treating psychopathology, science is leading to profound changes in our understanding of the etiology and treatment of all disorders associated with the central nervous system (CNS). Key exemplars that have served as a model for understanding neuroplasticity include phantom limb sensation (PLS) and, in particular, phantom limb pain (PLP). These sensations that map to a missing limb after amputation or other loss of innervation are common and frequently impairing. For example, 76 percent of combat veterans from the most recent conflicts, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, reported experiencing PLP (Reiber et al., 2010).
