What is Cortical Reorganization

The mutual adaptation between man-machine opens new possibilities in the development of better userfriendly interfaces that not only adapt to the user’s characteristics, but also permits the adaptation of the user to the machine. There are several examples of the use of feedback to improve the man-machine interface. One example is the use of sound to acquire cues in the interaction with the machine (Rauterberg, 1999). These studies show the improvement in the interaction when we increase the number of communication channels between the man and the machine. The problem with sound cues is that need the conscious effort to be recognized. Hunter, Katz, and Davis (2003) show another example of the importance of increasing the communication channels in the interaction between man and machine. In this study, they show how the multiple sensory stimuli contribute to the conscious awareness of the body, and how it can be used to change the abnormal body awareness that occurs after limb amputation. This effect is also known as cortical reorganization, where the brain after losing the stimuli from the amputated limb, due to the cross-modality, received input signals from the adjacent neurons, resulting in what is called “phantom limb.”