Does Your Brain Remember A Lost Limb? New Study Challenges Old Theories

A new study has reshaped our understanding of what happens to the brain following the loss of an appendage.

Researchers discovered that the brain’s control center for an appendage can remain long after surgical amputation. The revelation is a departure from previously held theories about the brain’s capacity to reorganize itself, a phenomenon known as plasticity.

The study was conducted by a group of scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and University College London. The researchers unlocked the findings by leveraging MRI scans on three participants in the months before a planned amputation and again up to five years after.

“It’s not often you get the chance to conduct a study like this one, so we wanted to be exceedingly thorough. We approached our data from a variety of angles and all of our results tell a consistent story,” said co-author Chris Baker, Ph.D., of NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in a press release.

It was previously believed that the brain’s outermost layer, known as the cortex, was responsible for managing different body parts, would remap itself when a part became damaged or lost. The latest findings, however, say otherwise.

“For many decades, cortical remapping as a response to amputation has been a literal textbook example of brain plasticity,” said Baker.

Of course, the previous understanding was not without debate. A phenomenon known as pervasive phantom limb syndrome calls into question the prevailing narrative. People have long reported feeling strong, even painful, sensations in the area where the limb once existed. Baker and his team theorized this might be the brain recalling what it lost.

The researchers mapped brain activity using an MRI by having the participants tap individual fingers before the amputation. In the months and years following the surgeries, multiple follow-up scans were performed, with individuals asked to attempt to perform the same functions.

What they found was that the activity in the brain was virtually the same, with or without the limbs.

The study’s lead author, Hunter Schone, Ph.D., says the breakthrough findings could ultimately help advance transformative brain-computer interface technologies.

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