Research Topics
| V S RamachandranSummaryAffiliation: University of California Country: USA Publications
| Collaborators
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Detail Information
Publications
Broken mirrors: a theory of autismVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Congnition, University of California, San Diego, USA
Sci Am 295:62-9. 2006
Colored halos around faces and emotion-evoked colors: a new form of synesthesiaVilayanur S Ramachandran
University of CA, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Neurocase 18:352-8. 2012..Additionally, we investigate TK's claim that emotions evoke highly specific colors, allowing him, despite his Asperger's, to introspect on emotions and recognize them in others...- The evolutionary biology of self-deception, laughter, dreaming and depression: some clues from anosognosiaV S Ramachandran
Brain and Perception Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093, USA
Med Hypotheses 47:347-62. 1996..And, finally, I use anosognosia as a launching-off point to speculate on a number of other aspects of human nature such as Freudian defense mechanisms, laughter, dreams and the mnemonic functions of the hippocampus... - Using mirror visual feedback and virtual reality to treat fibromyalgiaV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Med Hypotheses 75:495-6. 2010..This would furnish us with a better understanding of the mechanism by which external visual feedback interacts with the internal physical manifestation of pain... - Dynamic reorganization of referred sensations by movements of phantom limbsVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 0109, USA
Neuroreport 21:727-30. 2010..This finding further highlights the dynamic nature of the brain on remarkably short-time scales... - Synesthetically induced colors evoke apparent-motion perceptionVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Perception 35:1557-60. 2006..We conclude that, in at least some subjects, a synesthetically induced color that does not exist on the retina can nonetheless influence motion perception... - The use of visual feedback, in particular mirror visual feedback, in restoring brain functionV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0109, La Jolla, California 92093 0109, USA
Brain 132:1693-710. 2009..If so, relatively simple therapies can be devised--of which mirror visual feedback is an example--to restore function... - Sensations evoked in patients with amputation from watching an individual whose corresponding intact limb is being touchedVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr 0109, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Arch Neurol 66:1281-4. 2009..While these neurons cannot by themselves discriminate between the two, the mind is aware of the difference between feeling and watching; one does not confuse empathy with actual experience... - Sexual and food preference in apotemnophilia and anorexia: interactions between 'beliefs' and 'needs' regulated by two-way connections between body image and limbic structuresVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Perception 38:775-7. 2009..We postulate that sexual 'aesthetic preference' for certain body morphology is dictated in all individuals in part by the cortical representation of one's body image... - Size reduction using Mirror Visual Feedback (MVF) reduces phantom painV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Neurocase 15:357-60. 2009..Remarkably we find that optically 'resurrecting' the phantom with a mirror and using a lens to make the phantom appear to shrink caused the pain to 'shrink' as well... - Tactile-emotion synesthesiaV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093 0109, USA
Neurocase 14:390-9. 2008..It may represent an enhancement of pre-existing evolutionarily primitive interactions between touch and emotions... - Plasticity and functional recovery in neurologyV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Clin Med 5:368-73. 2005..Both principles can be potentially exploited in a clinical context to facilitate recovery of function... - The phantom headVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California at San Diego, McGill Hall, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Perception 40:367-70. 2011..The fact that sensory referral here occurs to a part of the body that is not normally visually accessible challenges the leading Hebbian explanation of the well-studied rubber-hand illusion... - Can mirrors alleviate visual hemineglect?V S Ramachandran
Brain and Perception Laboratory, Center for Research on Brain and Cognition, UCSD La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Med Hypotheses 52:303-5. 1999..Quite apart from its obvious theoretical implications, we believe this technique might provide a new approach for the treatment of visual hemineglect... 
Mirror agnosiaV S Ramachandran
Brain and Perception Laboratory, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Proc Biol Sci 264:645-7. 1997..The finding may have implications for understanding how the brain creates representations of mirror reflections...- Consciousness and body image: lessons from phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and pain asymboliaV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 353:1851-9. 1998..We consider three neurological syndromes (phantom limbs, Capgras delusion and pain asymbolia) to illustrate this idea... - Phantom limbs and neural plasticityV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Arch Neurol 57:317-20. 2000..Finally, phantom limbs also allow us to explore intersensory effects and the manner in which the brain constructs and updates a "body image" throughout life... - The neurology and evolution of humor, laughter, and smiling: the false alarm theoryV S Ramachandran
Brain and Perception Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Med Hypotheses 51:351-4. 1998.... - Psychophysical investigations into the neural basis of synaesthesiaV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Proc Biol Sci 268:979-83. 2001..We also suggest a similar explanation for the representation of metaphors in the brain: hence, the higher incidence of synaesthesia among artists and poets... - Graphemes evoke synesthetic colors even before they are consciously recognizedVilayanur S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Perception 40:490-2. 2011..Intriguingly the subject saw the appropriate colors accurately long before the graphemes became consciously visible--a novel form of blindsight... - The perception of phantom limbs. The D. O. Hebb lectureV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093, USA
Brain 121:1603-30. 1998..We conclude with a theory of phantom limbs, some striking demonstrations of phantoms induced in normal subjects, and some remarks about the relevance of these phenomena to the question of how the brain constructs a 'body image.'.. - Magnetoencephalography reveals early activation of V4 in grapheme-color synesthesiaD Brang
University of California, San Diego, CA 92093 0109, USA
Neuroimage 53:268-74. 2010..Results are discussed in the context of an updated version of the cross-activation model, the cascaded cross-tuning model of grapheme-color synesthesia... - Visual field heterogeneity, laterality, and eidetic imagery in synesthesiaDavid Brang
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Neurocase 16:169-74. 2010..The implications of these findings for the level at which synesthesia occurs, the 'enhanced cross-activation' model, and the mechanisms of visual memory are discussed... - Post-stroke tactile allodynia and its modulation by vestibular stimulation: a MEG case studyP D McGeoch
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093 0109, USA
Acta Neurol Scand 119:404-9. 2009..There is behavioural evidence that caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) can alleviate central pain. Several such patients have also noted that it reduces tactile allodynia, an especially ill-understood phenomenon in these patients... - Xenomelia: a new right parietal lobe syndromePaul D McGeoch
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 82:1314-9. 2011..The authors have recently suggested that an unusual behavioural condition in which otherwise rational individuals desire the amputation of a healthy limb might also arise from right parietal dysfunction... - Temporal sequences, synesthetic mappings, and cultural biases: the geography of timeDavid Brang
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Conscious Cogn 19:311-20. 2010.... - Similarly shaped letters evoke similar colors in grapheme-color synesthesiaDavid Brang
University of CA, San Diego, CA, USA
Neuropsychologia 49:1355-8. 2011.... - Vestibular stimulation can relieve central pain of spinal originP D McGeoch
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093 0109, USA
Spinal Cord 46:756-7. 2008..Single-blind, placebo-controlled case report... - Neurocognitive mechanisms of synesthesiaEdward M Hubbard
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Neuron 48:509-20. 2005..We propose that some, but probably not all, of these differences can be accounted for by differences in the synesthetes studied and discuss some methodological implications of these individual differences... - Survival of the synesthesia gene: why do people hear colors and taste words?David Brang
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
PLoS Biol 9:e1001205. 2011..Progress in uncovering the genetic basis of synesthesia will help us understand why synesthesia has been conserved in the population... - Is the sky 2? Contextual priming in grapheme-color synaesthesiaD Brang
Cognitive Science Department, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0515, La Jolla, CA 92092, USA
Psychol Sci 19:421-8. 2008..The results suggest that grapheme-color synaesthesia is automatic and perceptual in nature and also suggest that the connections between colors and numbers are bidirectional... - Can vestibular caloric stimulation be used to treat apotemnophilia?V S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 9209, United States
Med Hypotheses 69:250-2. 2007..If correct our hypothesis not only suggests why BIID arises, but also, in caloric stimulation a therapeutic avenue for this chronic and essentially untreatable condition... - Can vestibular caloric stimulation be used to treat Dejerine-Roussy Syndrome?V S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0109, Mandler Hall, La Jolla, CA 9209, United States
Med Hypotheses 69:486-8. 2007..If our hypothesis is correct this will be the first time in clinical neurology that a chronic disorder, long considered refractory to treatment, is relieved by a simple non-invasive procedure... - Behavioural evidence for vestibular stimulation as a treatment for central post-stroke painP D McGeoch
Centre for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 79:1298-301. 2008..Central post-stroke pain (CPSP) is often resistant to treatment. We have previously proposed that caloric vestibular stimulation might alleviate it... - Modulation of mu suppression in children with autism spectrum disorders in response to familiar or unfamiliar stimuli: the mirror neuron hypothesisLindsay M Oberman
Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, United States
Neuropsychologia 46:1558-65. 2008..These findings suggest that the MNS responds to observed actions in individuals with ASD, but only when individuals can identify in some personal way with the stimuli... - Face to face: blocking facial mimicry can selectively impair recognition of emotional expressionsLindsay M Oberman
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Soc Neurosci 2:167-78. 2007..These findings suggest that facial mimicry differentially contributes to recognition of specific facial expressions, thus allowing for more refined predictions from embodied cognition theories... - Spatial cueing in time-space synesthetes: An event-related brain potential studyUrsina Teuscher
Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, 92093 0515, United States
Brain Cogn 74:35-46. 2010..The findings suggest that in these time-space synesthetes cue validity influenced post-perceptual processes, such as stimulus evaluation and categorization, with no evidence for enhanced visual processing... - Apotemnophilia: a neurological disorderDavid Brang
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Neuroreport 19:1305-6. 2008..We found heightened skin conductance response to pinprick below the desired line of amputation. We propose apotemnophilia arises from congenital dysfunction of the right superior parietal lobule and its connection with the insula... - EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disordersLindsay M Oberman
Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 24:190-8. 2005..The ASD group showed significant mu suppression to self-performed hand movements but not to observed hand movements. These results support the hypothesis of a dysfunctional mirror neuron system in high-functioning individuals with ASD... - Preliminary evidence for deficits in multisensory integration in autism spectrum disorders: the mirror neuron hypothesisLindsay M Oberman
University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Soc Neurosci 3:348-55. 2008.... - The simulating social mind: the role of the mirror neuron system and simulation in the social and communicative deficits of autism spectrum disordersLindsay M Oberman
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Psychol Bull 133:310-27. 2007..Additionally, the authors suggest that dysfunctional simulation mechanisms may underlie the social and communicative deficits seen in individuals with autism spectrum disorders... - The appearance of new phantom fingers post-amputation in a phocomelusPaul D McGeoch
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093 0109, USA
Neurocase 18:95-7. 2012..The case powerfully demonstrates the interaction of nature and nurture in creating and sustaining body image... - Occurrence of phantom genitalia after gender reassignment surgeryV S Ramachandran
Center for Brain and Cognition, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Med Hypotheses 69:1001-3. 2007..We would emphasise here that transsexuality should not be regarded as "abnormal" but instead as part of the spectrum of human behaviour... - Projecting sensations to external objects: evidence from skin conductance responseK Carrie Armel
Psychology Department, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Proc Biol Sci 270:1499-506. 2003..These experiments demonstrate the malleability of body image and the brain's remarkable capacity for detecting statistical correlations in the sensory input... - Slow echo: facial EMG evidence for the delay of spontaneous, but not voluntary, emotional mimicry in children with autism spectrum disordersLindsay M Oberman
Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego, USA
Dev Sci 12:510-20. 2009..This delay occurred across different expressions and presentation durations. We relate these findings to the literature on mirroring and temporal dynamics of social interaction... - Reduced multisensory integration in patients with schizophrenia on a target detection taskLisa E Williams
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States
Neuropsychologia 48:3128-36. 2010.... - Attending to a misoriented word causes the eyeball to rotate in the headHarold Pashler
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0109, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Psychon Bull Rev 13:954-7. 2006..Apparent-motion displays confirming that the eye rotated in the head may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive... - Olfactory bulb dysgenesis, mirror neuron system dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation as the neural basis for autismDavid Brang
Center for Brain and Cognition, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Med Hypotheses 74:919-21. 2010..This causes deranged autonomic feedback, resulting in additional deficiencies in MNS with loss of emotional empathy and introspection... - Individual differences among grapheme-color synesthetes: brain-behavior correlationsEdward M Hubbard
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Systems Neurobiology Laboratory B, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
Neuron 45:975-85. 2005..The correlation between the behavioral and fMRI results suggests that grapheme-color synesthetes may constitute a heterogeneous group... - Contrast affects the strength of synesthetic colorsEdward M Hubbard
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Cortex 42:184-94. 2006..However, whether this is true for all grapheme-color synesthetes or is only true of the group we refer to as lower synesthetes, remains to be seen... - Autonomic responses of autistic children to people and objectsW Hirstein
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Proc Biol Sci 268:1883-8. 2001.... - Immediate interpersonal and intermanual referral of sensations following anesthetic block of one armLaura K Case
Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, 92093 0109, USA
Arch Neurol 67:1521-3. 2010..To explore whether interpersonal and intermanual sensory referral occurs following anesthetic block of a limb and to test theories of disinhibition of mirror neuron activity and transcallosal referral... - Superior size-weight illusion performance in patients with schizophrenia: evidence for deficits in forward modelsLisa E Williams
Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0109, La Jolla, CA 92093 0109, USA
Schizophr Res 121:101-6. 2010..The current findings are consistent with a dysfunctional forward model mechanism in this population. Future studies to elucidate the locus of this impairment using variations on the current study are also proposed... - A simple method to stand outside oneselfEric Lewin Altschuler
Brain and Perception Laboratory, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla 92093 0109, USA
Perception 36:632-4. 2007..This method demonstrates that registration of vision with touch and proprioception is crucial for the perception of the corporeal self. Our method may also allow the disassociation of taste from touch, proprioception, and movement... - Sensations referred to a patient's phantom arm from another subjects intact arm: perceptual correlates of mirror neuronsVilayanur S Ramachandran
Med Hypotheses 70:1233-4. 2008 - Hearing colors, tasting shapesVilayanur S Ramachandran
Sci Am 288:52-9. 2003 - Can you do this? Extremely difficult interbodypart coordination tasks and implications for central limitations on control of coordinationEric Lewin Altschuler
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07101, USA
Perception 35:281-3. 2006..The inability to perform these tasks indicates an intriguing central processing limitation on movement control, and study of these tasks should be helpful in understanding the neural mechanisms of motor control...