Birth and death of a phantom

Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2017 Nov 17;5(1):98-101. doi: 10.1002/acn3.495. eCollection 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Patients with supernumerary phantom limb report experiencing an additional limb duplicating its physical counterpart, usually following a stroke with sensorimotor disturbances. Here, we report a short-lasting case of a right upper supernumerary phantom limb with unusual visuomotor features in a healthy participant during a pure Jacksonian motor seizure unexpectedly induced by continuous Theta-Burst Stimulation over the left primary motor cortex. Electromyographic correlates of the event followed the phenomenological pattern of sudden appearance and brutal dissolution of the phantom, adding credit to the hypothesis that supernumerary phantom limb results from a dynamic resolution of conflictual multimodal information.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by Swiss National Foundation for Research grants PZ00P3_142258 and 325130_156937.