cow cuddling new wellness trend in the United States Having a 'Third Thumb' can cause the brain to assess the hand in a different way, say UCL researchers who experimented on the usage of a robotic extra thumb. In an article titled "Robotic 'Third Thumb' use can alter brain representation of the hand," a team of researchers trained people to use a robotic extra thumb attached to their hand. The results showed that the people could successfully carry out tasks such as building a tower of blocks with one had (the hand with the extra robotic thumb). In addition, the researchers also found out that the people who were trained, began to feel like the 'thumb' was part of their body. The designer of this contraption, Dani Clode, began developing this device as part of an award-winning graduate project at the Royal College of Art. She was attempting to redefine prosthetics as an extension of the human body rather than a replacement for a missing feature.