Sensations evoked in patients with amputation from watching an individual whose corresponding intact limb is being touched

Abstract

After amputation of a limb, the majority of patients experience phantom sensations, such as phantom pain. Such patients provide an opportunity for the exploration of the perceptual correlates of recently discovered “mirror neurons,” which fire not only when individuals move their own limb but when they watch the movements of the corresponding limb of another person. Similar neurons exist in the secondary somatosensory cortex for touch: they fire when the individual is touched or simply watches another person be touched. While these neurons cannot by themselves discriminate between the two, the mind is aware of the difference between feeling and watching; one does not confuse empathy with actual experience.