Logo

TED-Ed: The fascinating science of phantom limbs - Joshua W. Pate

By TED-EdFrom BoclipsNovember 3, 2025

The vast majority of people who've lost a limb can still feel it - not as a memory or vague shape, but in complete lifelike detail. They can flex their phantom fingers and sometimes even feel the chafe of a watch band or the throb of an ingrown toenail. What causes these phantom limb sensations? Joshua W. Pate explains how the brain reacts to a missing limb.

#Explainer
#Synthesis
#Life Sciences
#Biology
#Family and Health
#All ages