Action Shapes the Sense of Body Ownership Across Human Development.

Elena Nava,Agnese Berardis,Chiara Gamberini,Nadia Bolognini

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02507

Elena Nava, Agnese Berardis + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02507

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Abstract

In this study we investigated, both in childhood and adulthood, the role of action in promoting and shaping the sense of body ownership, which is traditionally viewed as dependent on multisensory integration. By means of a novel action-based version of the rubber hand illusion (RHI), in which participants could actively self-stroke the rubber hand, with (Version 1) or without visual feedback (Version 2) of their own actions, we showed that self-generated actions promote the emergence of a sense of ownership over the rubber hand in children, while it interferes with the embodiment of the rubber hand in adults. When the movement is missing (Version 3, i.e., mere view of the rubber hand being stroked concurrently with one’s own hand), the pattern of results is reversed, with adults showing embodiment of the rubber hand, but children lacking to do so. Our novel findings reveal a dynamic and plastic contribution of the motor system to the emergence of a coherent bodily self, suggesting that the development of the sense of body ownership is shaped by motor experience, rather than being purely sensory.

Highlights

The sense of body ownership is the product of complex mechanisms, primarily relying on the binding of multisensory body-related signals
Within the children group, there was no difference between the three rubber hand illusion (RHI) versions, while adults did report a feeling of ownership over the rubber hand only when the action was precluded, as compared to scores obtained in either Version 1 and 2
We explored the contribution of the motor system, in particular of self-generated actions, in shaping and maintaining a coherent sense of self across development by using a novel, motor-based version of the RHI

Summary

Introduction

The sense of body ownership is the product of complex mechanisms, primarily relying on the binding of multisensory body-related signals. Studies investigating the neural principles of the bodily-self have shown that multisensory inputs converge into a fronto-parietal network, in which they likely contribute to the building of a unique, sensory-based percept of the sense of body ownership (see Blanke et al, 2015 for a recent review). Some aspects of body representation may be innate, as suggested by studies conducted in patients with congenital limb aplasia, a condition in which individuals were born with one or more missing limbs (Melzack et al, 1997; Brugger et al, 2000). In support to the claim that there may be a predisposition to some aspects of body representation, studies conducted in human newborns have revealed that within the first hours Despite complete absence of the physical limb, and the experience of seeing, touching, and moving it, a number of patients report phantom limb sensations, suggesting that the neural representation of the body may be partially genetically programmed.

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