Reply to comment

The article about anosognosia reminded me of the discussion we had at the beginning of the semester of Dickinson vs. Descartes. Anosognosia and phantom limbs support the idea that brain=behavior because in both conditions brain damage causes in radical changes in behavior and perception. The article suggests that anosognosia and phantom limbs may come from brain damage that prevents new sensory data to be added to the region of the brain responsible for internal representation of the body. This model makes sense to me; it seems like the cable that connects sensory input to internal representation is broken. I think it is interesting (and scary) that this broken cable overrides the ability to use logic and learn. Patients with anosognosia believe they aren't paralyzed even though all external evidence shows they are.