PHANTOM LIMB PERCEPTUOMOTOR MEMORIES IN A CONGENITAL LIMB CHILD

Most published studies of phantom limb sensations and related phenomen a deal with subjects: first, who have been amputated accidentally or s urgically, and second who have undergone a large denervation of a livi ng limb. Although the mechanism responsible for the generation of phan tom feelings is not well understood, prolonged experience with a limb is believed to be necessary for the formation of the cortical represen tation of the limb, which is presumed to underlie the body schema and the experience of the phantom. For this reason, several researchers ha ve suggested that children with congenital limb deficiency or congenit al aplasia (those born without all or part of a limb) do not experienc e phantom limb sensations. Contrary to these suggestions, the present study describes the character of phantom limb, phantom limb pain, and related phenomena in a 12-year old intelligent and reliable boy, born with idiopathic congenital absence of the right forearm above the elbo w.