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Projecting sensations to external objects: evidence from skin conductance response.
K Carrie Armel1, V S Ramachandran
1Psychology Department, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, USA. carrie@ucsd.edu
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|September 11, 2003
Summary
Synchronous touch creates illusions of body ownership, extending sensations to objects like tables or rubber hands. This demonstrates the brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Somatosensation
Background:
- The sense of body ownership is crucial for self-perception.
- Understanding how the brain integrates sensory information to form body schema is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the malleability of body image and the conditions under which illusory ownership can be induced.
- To explore the role of synchronous sensory input in creating a sense of embodiment.
Main Methods:
- Synchronous tapping and stroking of a real hand and a visible object (table or rubber hand) with the real hand hidden.
- Measuring subjective reports and skin conductance response (SCR) to assess the illusion's vividness.
- Varying synchronicity and visibility of the real hand to test the illusion's robustness.
Main Results:
- Subjects reported sensations originating from the object, indicating illusory ownership.
- A strong skin conductance response (SCR) was observed when the object was 'injured', even though the real hand was unharmed.
- The illusion was significantly reduced when the real hand was visible or when touch was asynchronous.
Conclusions:
- Illusory body ownership can be induced through synchronous multisensory stimulation.
- Perceptual assimilation, rather than associative conditioning, appears to underlie this illusion.
- These findings highlight the dynamic nature of body representation and the brain's sensitivity to statistical sensory correlations.