Relief from intractable phantom pain by combining psilocybin and mirror visual-feedback (MVF)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Chaipat Chunharas, Zeve Marcus, Timothy Furnish, Albert Lin
Neurocase March 4, 2018 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2018.1468469 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA person with an amputated leg and phantom-limb pain experienced organized sensations in their phantom when a volunteer's foot was placed on or near it. Mirror-visual-feedback and phantom massage reduced the pain. Pairing psilocybin with mirror-visual-feedback produced synergistic effects, completely eliminating phantom-limb pain and reducing paroxysmal episodes. Touching the volunteer's leg where the person previously had external fixators evoked a sensation of nails boring through the leg; using a telescoping nail created an illusion of nail removal with corresponding pain relief. Artificial flames produced warmth in the phantom.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Person with leg amputation and phantom-limb pain |
| Interventions | Mirror-visual-feedback phantom massage psilocybin artificial flames |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Imaging phantom Phantom limb Phantom pain Illusion |
| Citations | 63 |
| Key finding | Psilocybin paired with mirror-visual-feedback completely eliminated phantom-limb pain. |
Abstract
AL's leg was amputated resulting in phantom-limb pain (PLP). (1) When a volunteer placed her foot on or near the phantom - touching it evoked organized sensations in corresponding locations on AL's phantom. (2) Mirror-visual-feedback (MVF) relieved PLP, as did, "phantom massage". (3) Psilocybin-MVF pairing produced synergistic effects, complete elimination of PLP, and reduction in paroxysmal episodes. (4) Touching the volunteer's leg where AL previously had external fixators, evoked sensation of nails boring through the leg. Using a "telescoping" nail, we created the illusion of a nail being removed with corresponding pain relief. (5) Artificial flames produced warmth in the phantom.