What Is Phantom Limb Syndrome

Phantom limb syndrome is a condition in which individuals experience sensations like pain, touch, and movement in an arm or leg that is no longer attached to the body. About 80 to 100 percent of amputees experience phantom limbs. The sensation can also occur in individuals who have been born without a limb. The time it takes for a phantom limb to appear varies. Some individuals experience the sensation immediately after an amputation, while others do not feel the phantom limb for several weeks. Despite their name, phantom limb sensations are not restricted to limbs and  can occur in many other areas of the body. They have been reported after breast amputations, the removal of parts of the digestive system, and the removal of eyes.   Types of Sensations in Phantom Limbs The sensations associated with a phantom limb vary considerably, from a slight tingling feeling to a vivid sensation of a moving limb. Individuals have reported feeling the phantom limb move, sweat, numb, cramp, burn, and/or change in temperature. While some individuals report that they can voluntarily move the limb – for instance, to shake someone’s hand – others state that the phantom limb stays â€Å"habitually† in a certain posture, such as a flexed arm or an extended leg. This habitual position can be very painful, like an arm stretched permanently behind the head, and sometimes replicates the position of the limb before it was amputated. The phantom limb  does not necessarily represent the missing limb accurately. For example, some patients have reported having short arms with missing elbows. Over time, phantom limbs have been observed to â€Å"telescope,† or shrink into the stump after amputation. For instance, an arm might shorten progressively until only the hand is attached to the stump. Such telescoping, which is often associated with increasingly painful phantom limbs, can occur overnight or gradually over years. The Causes of Phantom Limb Pain A number of mechanisms have been proposed as potential factors in  phantom limb pain. While none of these mechanisms have been proven to be the root cause of the pain, each theory provides valuable insight into the complex systems at work when a patient experiences a phantom limb sensation. Peripheral nerves.  One formerly dominant mechanism concerning phantom limb pain involves peripheral nerves:  nerves that are not in the brain and spinal cord. When a limb is amputated, many severed nerves are left in the amputated stump. The ends of these nerves can grow into thicker nerve tissues called neuromas, which can send abnormal signals to the brain and result in painful phantom limbs.   However, while neuromas can occur when limbs are amputated, they do not necessarily cause phantom limbs. Phantom limb pain can still occur, for example, in people born without a limb, and so are not expected to have severed nerves from amputation. The limbs can also remain painful even after the neuromas have been removed surgically. Finally, many amputees develop phantom limbs immediately after amputation, before enough time has elapsed for neuromas to develop. Neuromatrix theory. This theory came from the psychologist Ronald Melzack, who postulated that each person has a network of many interconnected neurons called the neuromatrix. This neuromatrix, which is prewired by genetics but modified by experience, produces characteristic signatures that tell an individual what their body is experiencing and that their body is their own. However, the neuromatrix theory assumes that the body is intact, with no limbs missing. When a limb is amputated, the neuromatrix no longer receives the input its accustomed to, and sometimes receives high levels of input because of damaged nerves. These changes in input modify the characteristic signatures produced by the neuromatrix, resulting in phantom limb pain. This theory explains why people born without limbs can still experience phantom limb pain, but is difficult to test. Furthermore, it is unclear why the neuromatrix would produce pain and not other sensations. Remapping hypothesis. The neuroscientist Ramachandran proposed the remapping hypothesis to explain how phantom limbs arise. The remapping hypothesis involves neuroplasticity – that the brain can reorganize itself by weakening or strengthening neural connections – occurring in the somatosensory cortex, which is responsible for the body’s sense of touch. Different areas of the somatosensory cortex correspond to different parts of the body, with the right side of the cortex corresponding to the left half of the body and vice versa. The remapping hypothesis says that when a limb is amputated, the brain area corresponding to that limb no longer receives input from the limb. Neighboring areas of the brain can then â€Å"take over† that brain area, causing phantom limb sensations. For example, one study found that people who have had their hand amputated can feel as if their missing hand is touched when a part of their face is touched. This occurs because the brain area corresponding to the face lies beside the brain area corresponding to the missing hand and â€Å"invades† the area after amputation. The remapping hypothesis has gained a great deal of traction in neuroscience research, but it may not explain why patients feel pain in their phantom limbs. In fact, some researchers  claim the opposite: rather than having a reduced brain area corresponding to the missing hand because of a brain area taking over, the representation of the hand in the brain was preserved. Future Research Although phantom limb syndrome is prevalent among  amputees and even occurs in people born without limbs, the condition is highly variable from person to person, researchers have yet agreed on its exact causes.   As research progresses, scientists will be able to better pinpoint the precise mechanisms causing phantom limbs. These discoveries will ultimately lead to the development of better treatments for patients. Sources Chahine, L., and Kanazi, G. â€Å"Phantom limb syndrome: a review.† Middle East Journal of Anesthesia, vol. 19, no. 2, 2007, 345-355.Hill, A. â€Å"Phantom limb pain: A review of the literature on attributes and potential mechanisms.† Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, vol. 17, no. 2, 1999, pp. 125-142.Makin, T., Scholz, J., Filippini, N., Slater, D., Tracey, I., and Johansen-Berg, H. â€Å"Phantom pain is associated with preserved structure and function in the former hand area.† Nature Communcations, vol. 4, 2013.Melzack, R., Israel, R., Lacroix, R., and Schultz, G. â€Å"Phantom limbs in people with congenital limb deficiency or amputation in early childhood.† Brain, vol. 120, no. 9, 1997, pp. 1603-1620.Ramachandran, V., and Hirstein, W. â€Å"The perception of phantom limbs. The D. O. Hebb lecture.† Brain, vol. 121, no. 9, 1998, 1603-16330.Schmazl, L., Thomke, E., Ragno, C., Nilseryd, M., Stockselius, A., and Ehrsson, H. â€Å"‘Pullin g telescoped phantoms out of the stump’: Manipulating the perceived position of phantom limbs using a full-body illusion.† Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 5, 2011, pp. 121.

Hero and Leander by Peter Paul Reubens - 982 Words

During this semester’s course we have studied various styles of art throughout Europe, and what has intrigued me the most is Baroque art. Baroque, as we have studied it, is a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, in sculpture, and painting. Baroque style began in Rome, Italy in the 1600s and quickly spread throughout Europe. The Baroque style was endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church, in their response to the Protestant Reformation. The Church encouraged artists to create works of art that would connect their audience intellectually and emotionally with religious themes. For my final visual analysis I have chosen Hero and Leander, by Peter Paul Rubens (Figure 1). Rubens created this oil on canvas painting between 1604 and 1605 in Lombardy, Italy. Ruben’s painting features Leander, a youth of Abydos, who used to swim across the waters at night to Sestos on the opposite side to meet his lover Hero, a p riestess of Aphrodite. The painting measures 96 X 127 cm and is currently located in the Yale University Art Museum, in New Haven, Connecticut. (Early mythological paintings) From Hero and Leander we can see the influence that Michelangelo and Titian had on Rubens during his career, in particular, how the human body moves in extreme ways. Emil Kren and Daniel Marx, on the Web Gallery of Art, give a nice summary of the subject of Ruben’s painting. The subject of the painting is a legend according to which

Macbeth vs. a Simple Plan free essay sample

Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare in the early 17th century and A Simple Plan, a 1998 Hollywood production are surprisingly similar. These two tragedies illustrate two contented ordinary men, whose lives are irrevocably altered for the worse, resulting in their downfalls. Both men are happily married to women who share their ambitions and become their driving force. Lady Macbeth and Sarah Mitchell are both intelligent and powerful characters as they understand their husbands’ weaknesses and know how to use it to their advantages. Although the men are the ones who act upon the evil plots, the wives play the more important role as the authority and motivation of their actions. Both Lady Macbeth and Sarah formulate plans to obtain their objectives before their husbands can think far enough ahead. The instant Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter, stating that he met witches who predicted he would be king, she immediately decides that the king will be killed: â€Å"The Raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements† (Macbeth 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Macbeth vs. a Simple Plan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 5. 38-40). As Macbeth earlier asks the stars to hide his desire, she openly asks the spirits to strengthen her desire by filling her with manly cruelty: Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of the direst cruelty. (1. 5. 40-43) She is clearly willing to do whatever is necessary to seize the throne. When Macbeth arrives home and tells her that King Duncan will come to their castle that night, she says to him: You shall put This night’s great business into my despatch; Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. (1. 5. 67-70) This speech shows that Lady Macbeth is the brain behind Macbeth’s actions and that her ambition is strong enough to drive her husband forward. She even facilitates the night’s events as she plans the agenda of the evening, preparing â€Å"wine and wassail† for the two chamberlains, and placing the dagger for Macbeth in the most convenient place. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth’s shifting control over her husband is mainly responsible for aggravating the struggle between Macbeth’s moralities and â€Å"vaulting ambition†. While Lady Macbeth is integral to her husband’s first crime her power wanes as he begins to act alone. Sarah, on the other hand, is more firm and determined. She ruthlessly attempts to plan out all of Hank’s actions, focusing on what she wants at the expense of others. Just like Lady Macbeth, the moment she realizes the possibility of more wealth and the lifestyle it will bring, she starts to plot her way to obtain it. The night Hank finds the money, Sarah concocts a plan to put five hundred thousand back in the plane to put Hank beyond suspicion, warning him to be extremely careful, while he is still contemplating his guilt. Right after she gives birth to her first child, she announces her second plan, which involves Hank and his brother Jacob blackmailing the third accomplice, Lou. This scene shares some similarity with Lady Macbeth’s own planning for her husband’s cover up of the initial crime. In both instances, the women reveal they are the crucial elements of evil in the actions. Sarah’s second plan leads to more deaths because she does not consider the fact that people react violently when they are threatened. Her determination does not waver as she plans another scheme to avoid the FBI’s investigation for the safety of the money and Hank’s life. Unlike, Lady Macbeth, Sarah’s power of persuasion increases as the story unfolds. Although, it seems like their husbands do all the evil acts, Macbeth and Hank can still be sympathized with because the women proved themselves as the real villain. As a way of setting their plan to action, Lady Macbeth and Sarah manipulated their husbands leaving them with no reason not to obey. Lady Macbeth takes advantage of the fact that she understands Macbeth’s weak spot. Art though afread To be the same in thine own act and valour, As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting â€Å"I dare not† wait upon â€Å"I would,† Like the poor cat i’ the adage? (1. 7. 39-44) She taunts his fear and tells him to be a man. When Macbeth shows guilt and frailty after killing Duncan, her reply is again filled with manipulation attacking Macbeth’s manhood. She says he is a coward for being afraid of the dead, as they are just like paintings. Also she says that the blood on their hands will be easily washed off by water, even though at the end of the play just before she commits suicide, she constantly obsesses with the imaginary blood that cannot be washed from her hands. When Macbeth experiences hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost, this was her reply: O! these flaws and starts, (Impostors to true fear) would well become A woman’s story at a winter’s fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! Why do you make such faces? When all’s done, You look but on a stool. (3. 4. 63-68) Although, words like these can snap Macbeth back to his senses, she does not realize that they can also stimulate a man to neglect real consequences and conscience. Ultimately, her words unleash Macbeth’s true evil side. Sarah also exploits Hank’s manhood in the sense that a man’s entire obligation is to provide for and protect his family. When Hank has had enough of the violence and wants to return the money and live life like it used to be, Sarah goads him into keeping it. She says that they would have the same boring jobs for the next thirty years. Their daughter, Amanda would wear second-hand clothes and play with used toys. Jacob would go back to the welfare office but with Lou gone, just himself and his dog in his filthy apartment, he would probably commit suicide. Just like Lady Macbeth, Sarah knows exactly where to hurt Hank. Her words seem to suggest that if Hank returns the money, he would be a very selfish man. She disregards the fact that keeping the money is illegal, and that it has caused many deaths just because she does not want to a simple life, even though they were happy before the possibility of wealth existed. According to the women, if the men back out and show fear, they are not worthy of men but if they carry out the crimes then they are brave and honourable; in reality, it is the other way around, that it takes real courage to resist the temptation of cheating their way into power. As it seems, without the women’s artful schemes that introduce the men to such desperate violence, the men would be incapable of carrying out the crimes themselves. It is doubtful that Macbeth could killed King Duncan and in such a brutal way, without his wife. Although it is Lady Macbeth that keeps him sane for a while and slaps him out of hallucinations, her manipulation gives him the stimulation he needs to commit more violence later on. Moreover, Sarah is the main cause of all the crimes Hank commits. Without her unnecessary plans and her manipulating words, they would have a higher chance of keeping the money safe. They are all so wrapped up in this greedy world; they fail to consider the consequences of their actions more realistically.