Consciousness and body image: lessons from phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and pain asymbolia.
V S Ramachandran
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences November 1, 1998 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.1998.0337 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Brain Humans Phantom limb Pain insensitivity, congenital Laughter Consciousness Body image Sensation Capgras syndrome Neuronal plasticity |
| Key points | Argues that 'consciousness' and 'self' are loose umbrella terms covering distinct phenomena, and that studying neurological syndromes such as phantom limbs, Capgras delusion, and pain asymbolia can reveal the specific neural circuits underlying different aspects of self, offering a route to understanding how neuronal activity gives rise to conscious experience. |
Abstract
Words such as 'consciousness' and 'self' actually encompass a number of distinct phenomena that are loosely lumped together. The study of neurological syndromes allows us to explore the neural mechanisms that might underlie different aspects of self, such as body image and emotional responses to sensory stimuli, and perhaps even laughter and humour. Mapping the 'functional logic' of the many different attributes of human nature on to specific neural circuits in the brain offers the best hope of understanding how the activity of neurons gives rise to conscious experience. We consider three neurological syndromes (phantom limbs, Capgras delusion and pain asymbolia) to illustrate this idea.
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