The role of functionality in the body model for self-attribution

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Body Ownership

Background:

• Bodily self-attribution, the sense of owning one's body, is crucial for selfhood.
• Previous research indicates multisensory stimulation and the brain's body model are key to body ownership.
• The specific features constituting the brain's body representation remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the features that define the brain's body representation.
• To explore how limb functionality influences the sense of body ownership.
• To integrate diverse embodiment findings by considering functional aspects of the body model.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on the embodiment of artificial limbs, whole bodies, and virtual avatars.
• Analysis of anatomical, volumetric, and spatial constraints in external entity embodiment.
• Discussion of how limb functionality within the body model explains embodiment variations.

Main Results:

• Embodiment of external entities is influenced by anatomical, volumetric, and spatial factors.
• Limb functionality, or the capacity for actions associated with a limb, appears critical.
• A functional body model offers a unified explanation for various embodiment phenomena.

Conclusions:

• The sense of self-attribution for an external entity depends on more than just physical characteristics.
• The brain's association of actions with a limb influences ownership attribution.
• Functional affordances of an entity, aligned with the body model, are key to body ownership.