Limited understanding of phantom limbs hinders the effectiveness of treating phantom sensations and pain. There are several theories about the causes of phantom limbs, just two main areas of the central and peripheral nervous system. The three main treatments are cognitive behavioral therapy with extinction, medications, and mirror therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy retrains the brain to use extinction to perceive that the limb is missing. Pharmaceuticals are the most common way of treating diseases and are easier to prove. Mirror therapy is a newer and commonly associated treatment for phantom limb pain. Cognitive behavioral therapy shows promise with a lower risk of side effects from the two persuasive, evidence-supported treatments. Understanding current theories supports current approaches to treatments. The two main theories are divided into two groups: central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system concludes that phantom limb problems are due to brain plasticity and remapping of sensations (Moseley & Flor, 2012). The peripheral nervous system is damaged and signals are misinterpreted from the phantom site to the brain. Growing support for the central nervous system as the primary cause comes from the fact that congenitally missing limbs have no reason for poor communication with the brain (Weeks, Anderson-Barnes & Tsao, 2010). The data is based on correlation regarding the ethical dilemma of removing a healthy limb from a human. Understanding why certain treatments work can provide insight into the underlying cause of phantom limb sensation. Cognitive behavioral therapy relies on the brain's neuroplastic ability to retrain the brain and learn phantom limb extinction. Treatment... the focus of the article ......with other therapies rather than long-term pain management. Cognitive behavioral therapy appears to have less harmful effects, although there is less evidence to support this treatment. More participants, testing different drugs in combination and recognizing which therapies work by classifying the underlying causes of phantom limb pain, may hold the key to banishing these phantoms forever. Until then, cognitive behavioral therapy appears to have the best chance for rehabilitation with the fewest harmful effects. Works Cited Moseley, L.G., & Flor, H., (2012). Targeting cortical representations in the treatment of chronic pain: a review. Neurorehabilitation and neural repair, XX(X), 1–7. doi:10.1177/1545968311433209 Weeks, S. R., Anderson-Barnes, V. C., & Tsao, J. W., (2010). The Neurologist, 16 (5), 277-286.doi:10.1097/NRL.0b013e3181edf128