Perhaps you should review your research. There is a big difference between phantom limb pain and stump pain. You are commenting about stump pain, and the statement that some people think it is just psychological, shows your lack of expertise in the area. All pain is psychological. All pain is perceived in your head.
As for this study, I've been following it since it began. This is promising, but so far, there is no advantage over just a mirrored box. Anyways, phantom limb pain is very difficult to research, because no patient has an identical amputation. It is impossible to conduct an ideal experiment with Phantom Limb Pain. Any research, into this is important, and I applaud the researchers for attempting this.
Actual you seem to be confused, though I freely admit I am no expert on this subject. However I have reviewed quite a bit of the relevant literature.
If a free nerve ending in a stump is activated, some people have suggested (and it was quite well accepted until about 15 years ago) that the AP would travel from the the stump through the A-delta and C fibers to the brain via the spinothalamic pathway, where it would terminate in the somatosensory cortex and give a sensation of pain (yes, we are now in the brain).
This is quite different from that stimulation of the somatosensory cortex coming from intracortical stimulation (see previous post, pubmed subcortical fringe and large scale reorganization of the somatosensory cortex). Thus the debate is whether or not the afferent fibers are SUBCORTICAL or INTRACORTICAL in origin.
If you define "psychologically" to mean broadly, "happening the brain," then very little of our perception is not psychological. However in this context "psychological" means from a unique CNS origin that is not intracortical (and obviously not from the PNS).
Please find an elementary neuroscience textbook to review your basic neuroscience before flaming posts. Then read Pons 1998. And then pick up Jon Kaas from Vanderbilt. My colleagues tell me that he is quite a nice guy.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lectrikhed @ Nov 15th 2006 11:09AM
Mr. shaninho
Perhaps you should review your research. There is a big difference between phantom limb pain and stump pain. You are commenting about stump pain, and the statement that some people think it is just psychological, shows your lack of expertise in the area. All pain is psychological. All pain is perceived in your head.
As for this study, I've been following it since it began. This is promising, but so far, there is no advantage over just a mirrored box. Anyways, phantom limb pain is very difficult to research, because no patient has an identical amputation. It is impossible to conduct an ideal experiment with Phantom Limb Pain. Any research, into this is important, and I applaud the researchers for attempting this.
shaninho @ Nov 15th 2006 1:24PM
Actual you seem to be confused, though I freely admit I am no expert on this subject. However I have reviewed quite a bit of the relevant literature.
If a free nerve ending in a stump is activated, some people have suggested (and it was quite well accepted until about 15 years ago) that the AP would travel from the the stump through the A-delta and C fibers to the brain via the spinothalamic pathway, where it would terminate in the somatosensory cortex and give a sensation of pain (yes, we are now in the brain).
This is quite different from that stimulation of the somatosensory cortex coming from intracortical stimulation (see previous post, pubmed subcortical fringe and large scale reorganization of the somatosensory cortex). Thus the debate is whether or not the afferent fibers are SUBCORTICAL or INTRACORTICAL in origin.
If you define "psychologically" to mean broadly, "happening the brain," then very little of our perception is not psychological. However in this context "psychological" means from a unique CNS origin that is not intracortical (and obviously not from the PNS).
Please find an elementary neuroscience textbook to review your basic neuroscience before flaming posts. Then read Pons 1998. And then pick up Jon Kaas from Vanderbilt. My colleagues tell me that he is quite a nice guy.