Neurologist V.S. Ramachandran looks deep into the brain’s most basic mechanisms as he explores the mind through topics such as phantom limb pain and synesthesia.
Click on the link in the right hand column to view the movie.
Posted by: csucpsyc | October 20, 2008
Movie Monday #8: V.S. Ramachandran A Journey to the Center of Your Mind
Posted in neuroscience
I thought the experiment he did with the mirror box and the phantom limbs was an amazing discovery! It really sounds like a huge break through for people who suffer with phantom limb pain. I also thought the part at the end with the abstract shapes and deciding which one was named which was very interesting how our brains depicted the sound of the name to the visual shape of the drawing. I wish he could have talked longer! The brain is truly a remarkable part about being a human being! Can’t wait to learn more this week!!
By: Carolyn Toillion on October 20, 2008
at 7:32 pm
I think the phantom limb part may be a popular favorite! I was first blown away by the mere concept that people suffered from pain in a limbe no longer there, but then for that doctor to create such an insightful, three dollar treatment was beyond me! I could only hope to ever be so innovative as to think in such a way as he did in order to help those suffering from such rare but serious disorders.
By: Megan Pendleton on October 20, 2008
at 8:11 pm
I don’t think I can pick any segment of his talk that wasn’t amazingly facinating. Many of the things he talked about correlates well with what I am learning in my bio psych class. I really liked the end of the talk where he demonstrated how everyone can be synestetic. I was one of 99%. The phantom limb segment was insipiring. To find that connection was between the motor comands and visual commands was brilliant, and it made perfect sense. I think that Ramachandran is a brilliant and innovative thinker and the world is fortunate to have people like him in it.
By: Reidun Gilbert on October 20, 2008
at 9:15 pm
His experiments with the phantom limb and alleviation through mirrors is incredible. It just reminds me of a magic show where what you see is so amazing because it seems real, like the girl really being cut in half and put back together. The smoke and mirrors trick works to fool the brain and he just applied it to paralysis patients. It’s so simple and off the wall it’s amazing how he came up with it.
By: Ryan Prior Psych362 on October 21, 2008
at 2:34 am
Overall I thought that the presentation put forth some interesting findings about the brain. I have worked with a gentleman in the past who had was able to distinguish who his mother was on the phone but was not able to identify her in a picture. In fact he would make comments such as “wow who’s the babe Mike” and I would have to remind him that it was his mom and he would get angry with himself. The only part that I had trouble completely accepting was the last part about how our brain identifies the certain shapes of an object and we can associate a correct translation. My question is would people be able to make similar associations with different languages? What about other forms of writing, like Chinese, which requires more of a symbolic style. However all in all I found his presentation thought provoking.
By: Michael Garcia on October 21, 2008
at 4:50 am
wow! it is amazing to be able to figure out where things happen in the brain and why in order to find ways to change them. With the phantom limb paralysis problem you really see how your brain learns that you are paralyzed, when it doesn’t move to brain commands, and how that carries over to the phantom arm. And that you can unlearn that–wow, it just shows how much we can change not only with out emotions by changing out thoughts but even with out physical body. There are treatments for chronic pain that deal with changing how you think about the pain–and it reduces your experience of the brain. Our minds really do create a lot of our reality.
I didn’t realize we always had an emotional response to things we have some connections to, I didn’t know I sweated that much in response to people and things that inspire emotions.
By: Emma Schutz Fort on October 21, 2008
at 5:31 am
Ramachandran also wrote a book called Phantoms in the Brain. Along with the phantom limb syndrome his discusses all sorts of different syndromes and conditions of the brain. His writing style is very similar to his public speaking, so it is entertaining considering that it is required reading for Brain, Mind, & Behavior (with Dr. Van den Berg). Check it out if you haven’t already read it.
PSYC 362
By: Oscar Bautista on October 21, 2008
at 7:14 am
this movie was interesting. i wasn’t sure where he was going with all that but i’m glad he tied it together at the end regarding creativity and many of the things that we consider make us human. i had heard about the mirror therapy for phantom limb before so it was cool to see the guy to figured that out. i hadn’t known that it could be used to help stroke victims. he didn’t elaborate on the extent that the mirror therapy was useful for stroke victims though, i would be interested n knowing how far they have gotten with that
By: Foreman psych 362 on October 21, 2008
at 7:01 pm
At first I was not sure about this movie but when I began to understand more of what he was describing I began to enjoy it more and more. The phantom limb was indeed an interesting topic. I would not have thought that such a “simple” solution of a box and mirror could have such fantastic outcomes. I also did think that the beginning was interesting with his description of the syndrome where a person does not recognize faces including their own. His explanation and way of using Freud’s Oedipus idea was great.
By: Elena Rodriguez(362&414) on October 21, 2008
at 8:24 pm
How great the research on the brain had evolved throughout the years, especially because the new research has been able to cure people by applying simple methods, like using a mirror to release the pain of a phantom limb. It is impressing that the life of many people has been changed thanks to the new research. It’s good to learn about the current research because problems that we once classified a person as crazy can be left behind. Ramachandran’s explanation for the delusions related to mother it’s a relief from the Freudian view of viewing the mother as a woman. His explanation was that the wire going from vision to emotion is different from the one going from auditory to emotion.
By: Juana Barcenas on October 21, 2008
at 11:55 pm
Psyc 362
Well, thank you for V. Ramachandran’s video. Although I didn’t like this nearly as much as Jill Bolte Taylor’s video but it still had some interesting elements. I guess for myself, it’s interesting how much I take for granted about the brain and how all of it works; it’s an extremely sophisticated body part, that’s for sure! And there is so much we still don’t know about the brain; what a fascinating topic.
By: Paul Hubbard on October 22, 2008
at 1:13 am
I’m always so fascinated by phantom limb studies and how people experience pain sensations when their limbs are missing. His study was incredible and just knowing that you can “trick” your mind the way he did blows me away. I also enjoyed his talk on synestesia. I was part of the 99% who fell for the “kiki” “bobo” experiment and his explanation of why was so cool!
Psyc 401
By: Desiree Ribolin on October 22, 2008
at 4:25 am
I found it interesting that there are two types of phantom limbs. Half of the people experience sensory and believe that their phantom limb can move and the other half say they cannot feel sensory in their phantom limb and claim that their phantom limb is paralyzed and that it is painful. I thought it was really cool how he came up with the method of using the mirror box. It is interesting to think that the movement they see in that mirror box from their normal limb triggers a part of the brain that makes them think their phantom limb can move, which helps relieve the pain. I also was fascinated that those that had phantom limbs that were painful and felt paralyzed , had previous injuries for a period of time that caused their arm to become paralyzed and painful before it had to be amputated. Also I found it crazy toward the end of his talk that he showed us two shapes, one he called kiki and the other he called booba and from the looks of the shapes, we were to guess who is kiki and who is booba and 99% of the people predict the same shape is booba and kiki. He explains that this is a primitive form of abstraction. But I just found it so cool that almost everyone would pick the same shape to be kiki and booba without being told which is which.
By: Amy Parshall PSYC 414 on October 22, 2008
at 4:55 am
I have heard a lot about the experiment the speaker preformed with the box and mirror pretaining to phantom limb pain. It was interesting to hear his reasoning behnd his experiment after reading several papers about it. Overall i though his presentation was the best one so far. The brain holds so many mysteries that have been debated for centuries and scientists are just now begining to answer. Call me a nerb but i think thats cool.
By: jason amarena psyc 362 on October 22, 2008
at 6:55 pm
I liked the video, although I had already studied about phantom limbs and synesthesia in my perception class last semester. It was still fascinating to hear more about those two topics. I had never heard of capgras syndrome/delusion, or maybe I just don’t remember. It was interesting because how does someone recognize her/his mother but thinks she is some stranger. That’s very bizzare. I also enjoyed how Ramachandran used the mirror for his patients. That’s amazing that it works so well. Synesthesia is just a fascinating phenomena. According to Ramachandran we’re all synesthetes, we’re just in denial. I thought that was funny. The example he used I’ve seen befire but it’s still interesting to see how many people choose kiki. This was an interesting video this week.
By: Cinthia Orozco (psyc 362) on October 22, 2008
at 7:03 pm
The experiment he did with the mirror box and the phantom limbs was also my favorite part of this presentation, along with everyone else. I thought that experiment gave the audience a great picture of how the brain works, under certain circumstances. I found it interesting to see that the doctors can come up with these treatments to help ease chronic pain-for only three dollars! That is amazing! I enjoyed with video very much! Great points!
PSYC 414
By: Ashley Hamilton on October 22, 2008
at 7:04 pm
Wow! The mirror box experiment is an awesome idea! It’s interesting that neurologists haven’t thought of phantom limbs and phantom pain as a learned behavior before! And if that is the case with stroke victims as well imagine how wonderful it would be if all they had to do to regain at least partial ability of skills lost is re-learn the skills! This video demonstrated again how complex the human brain truly is.
By: Brittney Bartram Psyc 362 on October 22, 2008
at 7:43 pm
That is amazing!!! I know will know what to do if I’m ever an amputee. This man is a quite an open mind and very clever, I would very much like to study under him. I found this lecture amazing, I love learning about the brain and would like to learn more about stuff like this.
By: Trevor Hill on October 22, 2008
at 10:11 pm
I have seen this video before in my brain/mind/behavior class. I actually really like this guy. He has a text book out that I am also currently reading for the other class. The whole thought of phantom limbs I think is extremely interesting, but kinda creepy. I wonder if someone can have sorta a reverse effect and feel like they have more limbs than they actually do. I mean like someone feeling like they have a third arm even though they don’t. If it is all the mind playing tricks on us, why not? Weird huh…
By: Isaac Roberts on October 22, 2008
at 10:28 pm
This video was really interesting to watch, especially the part of the mirror box with the phantom limbs. It is so cool to think how the brain think differently in a situation like this. I thought it was really interesting to see that such an optical illusion could make the patient’s pain go away.
By: Kristi Schroder on October 22, 2008
at 11:34 pm
This discussion started off a little slow, but I was blown away by the end. I was amazed with his creation and development of the mirror box. It is something so simple yet so difficult to overcome. I great to see how the mirror box helped alleviate pain and manipulated the brain in believing the phantom was moving. In the end of his lecture he mentions the ‘kiki’ and ‘boba’ figures. I was surprised to find out how many people thought ‘kiki was the jagged, pointy figure. I must be weird or something because I was in the 1% that thought ‘kik’ was the first, more round like figure.
By: shaza nassar PSYC 414 on October 23, 2008
at 2:02 am
Overall, Ramachadran was a very intertesting speaker about the brain. The phantom limp experiment was amazing to watch and I couldn’t believe how he made someone’s pain go away instantly. He has a great sense of humor in his presentation, which makes learning about the brain a lot more fun!
By: Danielle Ouellette on October 23, 2008
at 3:41 am
This lecture was so interesting. Who would of thought that a mirror box would get rid of phantom pain. I liked how he described the diseases and gave so many facts about the brain. It would definetely suck to not be able to recognize your mother in person, but know exactly who she is on the phone. It’s so strange. I liked this video it explained a lot.
By: Jena Wagner on October 23, 2008
at 3:47 am
I really enjoyed his presentaion. I am actually reading his book right now for my PSYC 321 class. His knowledge of the brain and phantom limbs are amazing. I think it is interesting how he studies phantom limbs and how they occure. Overall, he is a brilliant person and I enjoy not only watching his presentaions, but reading his book as well.
By: Jaime McComas on October 23, 2008
at 4:32 am
The brain is simply amazing.
It’s ironic how damaging just one silly little
thing can cause so much trouble.
The body is an amazing thing, as well,
like how can we feel something that isnt there?
aka the phantom limb.
Its funny how just a mirror can cure the pain people
have had, due to their phantom libs, so quickly.
I really liked this video it was very informative.
By: Daniella Galaviz (psy 362) on October 23, 2008
at 5:20 am
His whole talk was very interesting. It’s crazy the way the brain works. I can’t believe that people discover things like the phantom being a learned sort of pain and all it takes is a little re-training of the brain to fix it. I just find that whole thing very fascinating. This was a really good movie Monday… perhaps my favorite so far!
By: Ashley McGinty (414) on October 23, 2008
at 5:43 am
I totally loved this video! I thought most all of it was pretty fabulous. I thought the part about the mirror box and the phantom limb was so cool and particularly interesting! I had heard of a phantom limb before and people experiencing pain and an itch in their amputated limbs. However, I had never before heard of anything like the mirror box type thing. I find it incredible that this is actually an effective way to treat this phantom pain. It just seems too simple and easy to actually work, but apparently it does!
By: Liz Simmons on October 23, 2008
at 7:54 am
This is a very fascinating field of science and research to me. There are new and exciting things happnening all the time. The phantom limb trick with the mirror is a very clever technique to a very complex problem. He had the idea of perceived paralysis and after trying the mirror solution it only made certain he was correct.
By: Tyler Sinclair on October 23, 2008
at 4:16 pm
I enjoyed V. Ramachandran’s video because I really learned a lot from the video. This is amazing how he treated his patients.
By: SHIH YA HUANG PSYCH 362 on October 23, 2008
at 5:46 pm
Ramachandran was very interesting to listen to. I thought the phantom limb was extremely interesting that he was able to create something so simple to cure people of this phantom limb, and use things that were not medical and that was completely mental and in the brain. I also thought the last experiment at the end was interesting because I too picked the object on the right to be kiki because of its sharp edges, and bobo on the left because it was more curvy so that was interesting to me that almost everyone had picked the same
By: Danielle Pallavicini on October 23, 2008
at 6:08 pm
This movie was very interesting! Ramachandran is a great speaker and the topics he talked about were new and exciting to me. The study of the brain is so complicated and it is amazing how he could find such a simple solution to the phantom limb problems.
By: Erica Brick Psyc 414 on October 23, 2008
at 8:23 pm
this video didnt start out catching my attention although it did grow on me as it whent on. i feel as though there was a lot of information that was presented to me that i did not know before. all of this information was pretty interesting to me. i couldnt believe how something as serious as the phantom limb can be fixed or altered to easily. the mirror box was a psychological inforcement that made it possible to as he explained got rid of the sensory conflict. it was also really interesting to find out exactly why the synethesia actually happens. it really makes sense on how easily this can happen. to recognize the amount of fuctions that involve the angular girus shows how cutial this little part of the brain really is.
By: stephanie insler on October 23, 2008
at 8:40 pm
PSY 404
I’ve always been fascinated by Ramachandran’s work especially in the area of phantom limbs. What was particularly amazing is that $3 can cure the pain of someone who has been suffering for so long. I really enjoyed this video, one of my favorites.
By: Jennifer Cissell on October 24, 2008
at 5:20 am