Is it true that mirror neurons can make a man with an amputated arm feel sensation just by looking at someone else's arm, like Ramachandran said? In this Ted Talk Ramachandran sais that mirror neurons can make a person with an amputated arm feel sensation, is it true? And if so, why doesn't the brain feel a sensation by looking at someone else's arm when your arm is intact?
Mirror neurons exist and have been recorded from in primates and humans - these are cells that respond to the actions and inferred perceptions of others.
In papers by Ramachandran and others, they have shown that patients who have their arm anesthetized report experiencing a sensation of touch when they see someone else's arm touched:
Case, L. K., Abrams, R. A., &amp; Ramachandran, V. S. (2010). Immediate interpersonal and intermanual referral of sensations following anesthetic block of one arm. Archives of neurology, 67(12), 1521-1523.
Case, L. K., Gosavi, R., &amp; Ramachandran, V. S. (2013). Heightened motor and sensory (mirror-touch) referral induced by nerve block or topical anesthetic. Neuropsychologia, 51(10), 1823-1828.
These papers of course strongly suggest, but do not necessarily prove, that these phenomena occur due to mirror neurons.