Giummarra, M. J., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M. E. R., Gibson, S. J., Chou, M., &
Bradshaw, J. L. (2010). Corporeal awareness and proprioceptive sense of the
phantom. British Journal of Psychology, 101(4), 791–808.
https://doi.org/10.1348/000712610X492558
The purpose of the study was to examine how often and in what ways amputees
experienced their phantom limbs, including physical aspects (proprioceptive), size, shape,
posture, and telescoping, as well as sensory aspects (somatic), itch, touch, pressure, vibration,
temperature, and electric-like sensations. The participants of the study were 283 (205 males and
78 females) amputees from 22-96 years old. They ranged in being an amputee for 9 days to 70
years. The researchers developed and used a questionnaire called the Changes in Body Sensation
Following Limb Loss (CIBS) to collect data on the participant’s phantom limb experiences. The
questionnaire asked questions such as what the phantom limb looked like, felt like, how it
moved, etc. Due to the study being exploratory the researchers did not propose a formal
hypothesis. Instead, the goal of the study was to document patterns in phantom limb experiences.
The main finding of the study was that the majority of the amputees perceived their phantom
limb to be a normal size (in relation to their ‘intact body’) and in a normal position. Only a small
number reported anatomically impossible limb positions.
The overall conclusions of the study were that most phantom limbs are experienced in
ways that mirror the ‘intact body’, including size, shape, and posture. As well as most phantom
sensations occur automatically and were bothersome, so they are not just the result of
consciously thinking about the missing limb. Instead, phantom limb perception seems to come
from a long-term mental representation of the limb.