Boing Boing

Boing Boing

This neurological condition makes people deny their own limbs

Ellsworth Toohey
Jul 01, 2026
∙ Paid

Josef Gerstmann (1887-1969) CC BY 1.0

Somatoparaphrenia is a rare delusion in which a person denies that one of their limbs, or an entire side of their body, belongs to them — even when shown direct proof. Patients don’t just forget the limb is theirs; they invent an explanation for whose it actually is, sometimes elaborate enough that they’ll treat the …

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Boing Boing.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Happy Mutants LLC · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture