Chapter 1985: The Mystery of the Ghost Skull 46

Click—

The plug was inserted into the socket, Lin An instinctively stepped back two steps, his eyes locked on the TV screen.

I don't know if it's because too many abnormalities have been encountered, but he even felt that having no power wasn't strange; plugging it in seemed a bit strange.

Soon, almost at the moment the power was connected, the continuously looping interview clip on the screen suddenly stopped, like a jammed videotape, frozen at the second the researcher opened his mouth to speak.

The bluish light from the screen reflected on his face; in Lin An's somewhat tense wait, the picture suddenly flickered, and within a few seconds it turned into a mass of garbled code.

It was like a mosaic of ghostly faces pieced together.

Zizi! Zizi!

Before Lin An could instinctively grip the spear in his hand.

The next second, the screen instantly went black, replaced by another segment of footage.

The picture switched to a laboratory, and the camera also showed a female reporter dressed in red.

Zizi-

Hello, Doctor Fujita.

Regarding Phantom Limb Syndrome, this special mental illness, I personally and the vast audience before the screens are very curious. As you just said, Phantom Limb Syndrome is still an extremely difficult-to-cure mental illness, with hundreds of thousands suffering each year.

I'd like to ask: why can't we treat it with drugs or psychological counseling? Modern medicine is so advanced, why are we helpless? Could you explain the principle of this disease?

Facing the host's question, the researcher seated on the work stool smiled and took the microphone:

For this question, I can only say that the human body still holds many secrets unknown to us; our research on nerves and the brain is merely scratching the surface. Especially mental issues, they are truly too complex and profound.

However, according to current academic views, Phantom Limb Syndrome is less a mental illness and more a physiological one.

Patients' thought logic, including daily life, is fine; only a small portion unable to bear the pain from this illness suffer mental disturbance, leading to thought collapse and extremism.

Choosing his words carefully, the researcher paused slightly, not intending to say too much:

Phantom Limb Syndrome is actually the brain's inability to accept the loss of a body part, causing cognitive dissonance.

It's like a faucet that keeps running; normally we'd turn it off after filling a cup, but for Phantom Limb Syndrome the faucet can't be shut off.

The brain continuously sends signals to the missing part, commanding feedback electrical signals and status. But the corresponding limb nerves are gone, so the brain naturally receives no feedback.

In this situation, the brain's corresponding neural region keeps amplifying the signal, repeatedly 'inquiring,' so a person naturally can't tolerate this stimulation.

The researcher smiled, looking at the somewhat confused reporter, and simply gave the simplest analogy:

It's like your mom shouting for you to get up, you don't get up, so she keeps shouting. After a while she gets annoyed, you get annoyed too, maybe she'll even storm in and hit you. Your dad listening in the living room also gets annoyed, even though he's not the one being shouted at, he might get dragged in.

Hearing the researcher's humorous explanation, the reporter suddenly understood and couldn't help covering her mouth and chuckling:

Oh, I get it! But according to you, can't we tell the brain to stop shouting? Like when I linger in bed, I always say I'm sleepy, can't get up!

It's difficult; that line of thought is correct, it's the direction of our research, but it's hard to achieve.

The researcher shook his head, wiped the smile from his face, and said seriously:

In theory, if we just inform the relevant neural part with information, we could cure Phantom Limb Syndrome. But the brain's cellular neural tissue doesn't understand 'human speech.' We can't make it know what to do or what to know; otherwise humanity would have long been able to develop the brain without limits, even toward immortality and curing cancer!

Human consciousness is a collective consciousness; we can only converse with the final thought, not with the nerves.

Speaking of this, it already touches the essence of life, the ultimate question of why consciousness exists. For example, why do we have thoughts? Why can a bunch of simple nerve cells compose us?

Are we controlling the body, or is the body controlling us?

Does consciousness truly exist? Is human consciousness perhaps a kind of Phantom Limb Syndrome?

Perhaps it's an occupational hazard; the researcher, while speaking, suddenly realized he'd gone off topic. There's no way— as a neuroscientist researcher, who wouldn't want to figure out the ultimate mystery of human consciousness?

Seeing the atmosphere turn a bit awkward, the researcher hastily changed the subject, laughing awkwardly:

Of course, the cause of Phantom Limb Syndrome might not be what we think.

Take a simple example: many patients with missing limbs often feel sensations that aren't there. For instance, they clearly have no hand, haven't touched fire, yet feel burned.

Therefore we suspect that information obtained through other senses is also a culprit of Phantom Limb Syndrome.

For example, seeing or hearing can also trigger a synergistic effect, leading to cognitive errors.

Standing up, the researcher smiled at the female reporter and mysteriously raised both hands.

To make it easier for everyone to understand, I can lead you in a little game. In this game, I can let everyone feel what Phantom Limb Syndrome really is!

A little game?

The female reporter blinked slightly; she saw the researcher suddenly lift his left hand, then alternately place his left ring and middle fingers together.

Come, everyone can do this with me.

First, we cross the left hand's ring and middle fingers.

Next, we use the tips of the crossed fingers to rub up and down on the tip of our nose—note, it's the fingertips~

Believe me, repeat a few times and you'll make a surprising discovery!

As his words fell, the female reporter instinctively mimicked his action and sat up; a few seconds later, she suddenly widened her eyes and cried out in fright:

Good heavens!

Two noses! I actually felt two noses!

No..

It's two heads!

The screen flickered; the researcher looked at the camera with a faint smile, his gaze seeming to pierce the screen, and spoke seriously:

We can feel two heads.

In the dim, silent hall, Lin An stood stiffly in place.

At some point, his left hand had mimicked the girl's gesture, joining together and slowly touching his own nose.

Sha Sha

Fingertips rubbing, moving up to the brow.

A few seconds later, Lin An's heart jolted; an indescribable, even unimaginable sensation instantly appeared in his mind.

Two heads.

He felt two heads.