phantom



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Cellphone company spokesmen, meanwhile, say they are not aware of any consumer complaints about phantom vibrations
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
25
"I like that better than 'I'm crazy,' anyway".
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
24
But the only thing ringing was my thigh"
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
20
Psychologically, the key to deciphering phantom vibrations is "hypothesis-guided search," a theory that describes the selective monitoring of physical sensations, says Jeffrey Janata, director of the behavioral medicine program at University Hospitals in Cleveland
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
13
Some call it "phantom vibration syndrome"
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
11
Alejandro Lleras, a sensation and perception professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, adds that learning to detect rings and vibrations is part of a perceptual learning process
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
10
Some who experienced recurring phantom vibrations wondered whether the phenomenon had physical roots: Was it caused by nerve damage or muscle memory
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
9
Phantom cellphone vibrations also can be explained by neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to form new connections in response to changes in the environment
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
8
"And it leads you to over-incorporate non-vibratory sensations and attribute them to the idea that you're receiving a phone call"
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
8
"They're over-solidified, and similar sensations are incorporated into that template
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
6
Spurred by curiosity, Garrity, a Web developer, described the recurring false alarms on his blog
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
6
"And it was somewhat comforting, because it made me think I wasn't insane, after all"
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6
"Neurological connections that have been used or formed by the sensation of vibrating are easily activated," he says
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
5
"I'd be sitting on the couch and feel my phone start to vibrate, so I'd reach down and pull it out of my pocket
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
5
Though no known studies have analyzed what may cause spontaneous buzzing, anecdotes such as Garrity's ring true with the public
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
5
"I ended up hearing from a lot of people who said, 'Hey, the exact same thing happens to me,' " Garrity says
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
5
Random noise is interpreted as a real signal, when in fact, it isn't"
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
5
"It's like when e-mail first came out, and we constantly checked our inboxes, because getting a new message was so exciting
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
4
"It started happening about three years ago, when I first got a cellphone," says Canadian Steven Garrity, 28, of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
4
"Perhaps in the mind of the cellphone user only," he says
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
4
But Rob Whitehouse, vice president of communications at University Hospitals, insists the phantom vibrations he experiences each day are simply proof of how important constant communication is
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
3
The response was not imaginary: More than 30 cellphone users reported that they, too, experienced phantom vibrations
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
3
But experts say the false alarms simply demonstrate how easily habits are developed
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
3
"You come armed with this template that leads you to be attentive to sensations that represent a cellphone vibrating," Janata says
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
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"As the filter is created, it is imperfect, and false alarms will occur
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
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When cellphone users regularly experience sensations, such as vibrating, their brains become wired to those sensations, Janata says
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3
"It's some psychological expression of my need to always be connected," he says
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Others prefer "vibranxiety" — the feeling when you answer your vibrating cellphone, only to find it never vibrated at all
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
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"When we learn to respond to a cellphone, we're setting perceptual filters so that we can pick out that (ring or vibration), even under noisy conditions," Lleras says
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
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Cellphones cannot sporadically vibrate on their own, says Mark Siegel of AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom
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It suggests that when cellphone users are alert to vibrations, they are likely to experience sporadic false alarms, he says
Jun 13 '07 -Health- www.usatoday.com -cellphone,vibrations,phantom

 
 

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