New insights into cause of phantom limb pain may have therapeutic benefits

Phantom limb pain is the pain experienced following loss of a limb, either from injury or amputation. This sensation of pain was previously thought to be caused by abnormal plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex of the brain, and rehabilitative therapies have focused on restoring normal motor function to relieve the pain. However, conflicting results left the question of whether and how phantom pain is caused by changes in sensorimotor activity unanswered.