SPATIOTEMPORAL PROPERTIES OF THE PATTERN OF EVOKED PHANTOM SENSATIONSIN A LEFT INDEX AMPUTEE PATIENT

In a left index finger amputee, appropriate stimulation of skin areas of the remnant left fingers or left lower face evoked veridical sensat ions as well as sensations localized to the phantom finger. Five month s after the amputation, there was a systematic correspondence between positions of digital and facial stimuli and positions of stimuli felt on the phantom. More than 3 years after the amputation, orderly maps o f the phantom index on the ipsilateral fingers were still detected. By contrast, poorly organized facial maps were present only contralatera lly to the amputation. The maps on the remnant fingers are likely to a cquire stability because they are systematically activated during mani pulations performed with the mutilated hand. The disorganization of fa cial maps may be related to their irrelevance for behavioral control i n everyday life conditions.