Denervation of the ear and the 'folding flower' illusion.
Following acute denervation of the ear, I experienced altered cutaneous sensory perception analogous to that reported by patients after limb amputation. This suggests that any sudden, complete loss of somaesthetic sensation can result in cortical reorganisation reflecting lost peripheral input. Although the short time course of the phenomenon suggests an initial functional reorganisation, it does not preclude longer time course structural alterations at multiple levels of the nervous system.
Department of Neurology, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. dvdbwilliams@gmail.com
David Bruce
DB
Williams
D003714:Denervation; D054644:Ear Auricle / Q000294:innervation*; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions; D008297:Male