The influence of age on the rubber hand illusion

The rubber hand illusion is a perceptual illusion whereby a model hand is embodied during tactile stimulation. The aim of the present study is to investigate the onset time of the illusion in relation to age. We used two sensors, made using Arduino NANO, in order to record the onset time in which the participants said to start perceiving the illusion. The subjects involved in the experiment were divided in 3 age groups: 16-20, 21-50, and 51-88 years. We observed a clear-cut stronger manifestation of the illusion in the younger group both in terms of proportion of responders vs. non-responders, which was higher in the first age group, and in terms of illusion onset time which was shorter in the same group. These results were substantiated by the responses to a questionnaire measuring subjective perception of the illusion.