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| The Acceptable Sacrifice by Larner | 21 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005 |
| Ah *deep, satisfied sigh* some tender Aragorn/Hobbit healing going on! The first five chapters have all been a bit overwhelming - not least for poor Frodo! My Mum would endorse every word you have said regarding amputations. Have just got back from visiting her and she was complaining her feet were cold (she is a bi-lateral, above knee amputee). Author Reply: In my research on abberant vision I found a book on phantom limb experiences (Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran) by a psychologist/neurologist originally from India; a few weeks after I read the book he was featured on Sixty Minutes where they demonstrated some of the techniques he'd come up with to help trick the brain into allowing the nerves in such situations into relaxing so as to allow the amputee to know relief from real pain experienced by these often poorly protected nerve endings now leading to nothing. In time surrounding brain processing zones will often begin to preempt the regions formerly associated with the amputated limb, finger, toe, lost vision, and so on; and it can lead to some fascinating changes in the individual's sensory experiences, particularly with some regions close to areas that handle the sensory input of sexual experiences. I never realized that research into sensory analysis of amputations could lead to some odd observations on changing erotic zones. He also had a great deal of data on visual processing, and what can happen when the visual field is filled with blank spots, in which the brain tries to fill the blank spots usually by continuing data from elsewhere in the visual picture, or occasionally apparently randomly filling the blank spots with visual memories. One person saw cartoon characters in the blank spots; another had visual memories apparently from the mind's built-in encyclopedia of visual images appear there. His visual loss was in the lower half of his visual field, and he told Dr. Ramachandran he saw an active monkey in the doctor's lap. Brain research I find fascinating. I take it your mother lost her legs due to secondary infections from diabetic neuropathy? So glad you appreciated the chapter and the beginning of Frodo to returning to more normal reactions, and the caring he and Aragorn have for one another. | |