The brain is known as the “final frontier” of science; the hardest nut to crack but contains a vast wealth of information, a veritable treasure trove of knowledge that can enrich our understanding of human nature. Neuroscientists study the brain particularly through case studies of what happens when the brain malfunctions: what causes the brain to malfunction, can we identify abnormalities, and can we correlate neuronal abnormalities to physiological problems. In his book “Phantoms in the Brain,” VS Ramachandran tackles a particular part of neuronal problems – phantom limbs – but explores them through the broader field of neurobiology. In doing so, it provides a comprehensive assessment of reality – its drivers, reasons, and inconsistencies, providing the reader not only with an interesting case study in neurobiology, but also with an altered perception and enhanced understanding of the nature of the self. Ramachandran begins by directing the reader to the source of the phantom limb sensations – the brain, rather than the previous explanation for these sensations, the nerve endings. In the brain, he isolates and explains the homunculus in great detail, as it is his foundation for the rest of the book. The correlation between phantom limbs and the homunculus is the idea that neuronal reprogramming can occur. Ramachandran tested this theory with a neuroimaging technique known as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and used it to image the brains of arm amputees, finding that there was significant remapping (31). The key idea advanced at the beginning of the book is that neurons can change roles - depending on injury and the actions of adjacent neurons -- and it addresses the study of phantom limb senses...... middle of paper ... ...f extremely specific case studies show how the brain is flexible, has a perceived self-image, goes to great lengths to preserve that self-image, and is even willing to make mistakes to do so. Phantom limbs are presented as a brain confabulation mechanism aimed at denying the destruction of part of the body's self-image, combined with neural reprogramming that allows the brain to perceive sensations when there are none. has not – a key element of the self-deception mechanism. When the body is damaged, this self-deception occurs so that the brain does not need to entirely change its existing structure, and the pain experienced by phantom limb patients is one of the brain's mechanisms to be wrong. Since pain is manufactured by the brain, its fabrication in conjunction with a subconscious psychological denial of the truth of the situation is what ultimately causes phantom limb sensations...