'Feeling' Recreated in Amputees' Robotic Arms--Here's How

When it comes to moving your limbs, you don't need to see to believe. Intuitively, you know where your limbs are, as well as the positions they're making. This kind of awareness, called kinesthesia, is missing from prosthetic limbs--especially advanced, motorized ones. But a new study published in Science Translational Medicine lays out how a sense of self can be extended to prostheses, through cleverly crafted illusions. "By restoring the intuitive feeling of limb movement--the sensation of opening and closing your hand--we are able to blur the lines between what the patients' brains perceived as'self' versus'machine'," said Paul Marasco, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Laboratory for Bionic Integration, in a statement.