I remember hearing a while back, on a science podcast by Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki, that it is possible that memory is stored throughout the body aswel as in the brain. I'm not sure how correct this theory is, but if it is in fact true could it have any link to 'Phantom limbs'? I was thinking that maybe the body remembers how, an arm for example, moves or feels even when no longer there. This maybe sends signals to the brain (which knows the arm isn't there) but because the memory is stored elsewhere it causes confusion and leads you to interpret the memory as present truth. Could this be at all possible?
I think it might be as well be the memory stored in the brain itself. The brain is huge. There is not only the conscious in it but lots and lots of unconscious things too. Saying "the" brain "knows" the limb is no longer there is a bit like saying your computer knows the right English orthography. The information is somewhere in there but that doesn't mean it's automatically used in all cases.
When I type what I'm used to typing instead of what I intend to type I also love to say my "fingers" remember it but really I think it is stored in some part of the brain.
I also think this is all in the brain. it has sth to do with your brain automatically engraving what you body can and cannot do. There are some pretty simple ways to overcome it, I' advise you to watch dr V.S. Ramachandran's lecture on thesciencenetwork, here:
http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-candles-in-the-dark/v-s-ramachandran-1
You also should check out his BBC Reith lecture exclusively on the topic, here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2003/lecture1.shtml
Origin of phantom limb pain needs to be addressed at two levels - Central & Perpheral.
Central : The fact that Phantom Limb pain has been reported from children born without limbs indicates the role of brain in the genesis of symptoms.It is known that a specified area of the cerebral cortex is delegated for reception as well as transmission of nerve impulses to and from various parts of the body. These neural pathways get integrated during the development of the fetus. Loss or arrested development of a body part leads to the lack of sensory input from the affected part leading to altered nervous activity in the Brain which is perceived and projected to have originated in that limb.
Peripheral :Damage to the the sensory nerves in the affected limb causes disruption and subsequent disorganized regeneration of nerve endings in the stump, leading to abnormal discharges by the sensory neurons which again will be perceived by the brain to have originated in the area originally represented by these nerves.
Therefore, in case of Phantom Limbs, it is altered neural activity - both in the Brain as well as at peripheral level, which is at play rather than the memory.
Musicians and dancers push beyond the limits of the conscious - they practice until they can't get it wrong. That means they're running on automatic while planning the shopping. There are two stages, training the muscles to do things they don't normally do, and training the subconscious to process the triggers - sheet music, other players, the music - to perform the piece. It's a similar exercise typing, we don't think how to type, we just do it. Similarly with talking, or any number of other activities. The proof that it's the brain is that pianists suffering from strokes lose the ability to play: if it was just the body they'd still be able either to play given the "Go" trigger, or not if they can't handle the trigger, but they display impaired ability to perform, an ability but not the same as used to be.