Chapter 1. Losing One’s Touch: Living Without Proprioception

1.1 Losing One’s Touch: Living Without Proprioception

Short Description

This program features the unusual case of a middle-aged man who, thirty years ago, lost his ability to control bodily movement.

Long Description

This program features the unusual case of a middle-aged man who, thirty years ago, lost his ability to control bodily movement. He found that he could only guide his motions by looking at his body. He has no sense of touch below the neck and thus lacks awareness of the location of his limbs and their movement. This condition of having no proprioception is extremely rare.

With the help of a neurophysiologist, the man has learned to regain his mobility. Normally when we stand or move we do not consciously think of where we are in time or space. In this case, the man found that when he deliberately looked at his limbs and willed them to move, he regained control of them. He reports that it took him a long time simply to learn to stand and, even today, it takes a great deal of effort to maintain a single position. The use of mirrors failed to help him. He needs to look directly as his body parts. When he walks, he needs to think about each step he takes. Today, he is finally able to close his eyes and freeze his position, something he could not do earlier.

The neurophysiologist explains that normally sensory and motor nerves in the skin, muscles and joints send and receive messages that enable body position and movement. In this man’s case the sensory but not the motor nerves have been destroyed. Thus, he can send messages but does not receive the feedback that the rest of us do.

Questions

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