Phantom limb syndrome occurs when amputees continue to feel vivid sensations, including severe pain or itching, in a body part that has been completely surgically removed.

A closer look

Phantom limb syndrome occurs when amputees continue to feel vivid sensations, including severe pain or itching, in a body part that has been completely surgically removed. The somatosensory cortex in the brain retains the map of the missing limb and gets highly confused when it stops receiving sensory input, so it just hallucinates the signals instead. Your brain is so obsessed with routine that it refuses to accept reality, choosing instead to invent imaginary pain just to have something to process. It is a terrifying glimpse into how much of our physical reality is entirely fabricated by the grey matter in our skulls. You cannot even trust your own nervous system, because it will confidently lie to you about an itching foot that has not existed for three years