OtherJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2026

Feeling (in)complete: neural correlates of perceived body integrity in individuals with lower limb amputation.

Robin Bekrater-Bodmann, Michaela Ruttorf

PMID 41491539

WHAT IT FOUND

Synchronously touching a hidden residual limb while viewing an intact artificial leg made most participants feel physically complete.

This visual-tactile match triggered left superior parietal lobule activity, linking the artificial limb to body integrity.

Key findings

01Synchronous stimulation of an intact artificial leg with the hidden residual limb induced a sense of body integrity in 70.6% of participants.

02This sense of body integrity was associated with increased activity in the left superior parietal lobule.

03The neural response in the left superior parietal lobule was similar whether the illusion was induced on the residual limb or the non-amputated limb.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they found

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What it does not show

There was no non-amputated control group, so it is unclear if the brain activity patterns are unique to individuals with amputation or reflect general multisensory processing. The study did not measure when the illusion started or stopped, which may have diluted the fMRI signals. The sample included people with different amputation levels and sides, which adds variability to the neural results. The findings are from a laboratory setting using artificial mannequin limbs, not actual prostheses worn during daily activities.

Declared interests

No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.

The easy way to misread this

Do not interpret this as evidence that specific physical therapy or occupational therapy techniques can improve body integrity. The study used a laboratory rubber limb illusion with mannequin parts, not clinical prosthetic training or rehabilitation interventions.

Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →


The study

Participants
34 individuals with lower limb amputation
Certainty of evidence
Low

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    Robin Bekrater-Bodmann, Michaela Ruttorf Feeling (in)complete: neural correlates of perceived body integrity in individuals with lower limb amputation. Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation. 2026.

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