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The brain preserves maps of missing hands for years

The results call into question theories of large-scale brain reorganization after limb loss

The brain holds on to a map of the hand, long after it’s been amputated, a new study shows.

Bevan Goldswain/Getty Images

By Laura Sanders

The brain holds space for a missing limb, even years after it’s gone.

For three women who underwent planned hand amputations, brain scans revealed remarkably durable maps of hand areas, lasting for five years in one case.