scholarly journals Feeling Oneself Requires Embodiment: Insights From the Relationship Between Own-Body Transformations, Schizotypal Personality Traits, and Spontaneous Bodily Sensations

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Michael ◽  
Deborah Guyot ◽  
Emilie Tarroux ◽  
Mylène Comte ◽  
Sara Salgues
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Body Awareness ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Representations ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Mental Rotations ◽  
Bodily Sensations ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Coherent Picture

Subtle bodily sensations such as itching or fluttering that occur in the absence of any external trigger (i.e., spontaneous sensations, or SPS) may serve to locate the spatial boundaries of the body. They may constitute the normal counterpart of extreme conditions in which body-related hallucinations and perceptual aberrations are experienced. Previous investigations have suggested that situations in which the body is spontaneously experienced as being deformed are related to the ability to perform own-body transformations, i.e., mental rotations of the body requiring disembodiment. We therefore decided to consider whether the perception of SPS might relate to embodiment as assessed through (i) the ability to perform own-body transformations (OBT task) and (ii) schizotypal traits (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, or SPQ), since high degrees of schizotypy in the general population have been associated with more vivid perceptions and aberrant perceptual experiences. Then participants completed a standard SPS task. Our analysis revealed that the slower the response time in the OBT task, the more frequent the perception of SPS. This suggests that difficulties in disembodying and mentally transforming one’s own body facilitate feeling oneself. Furthermore, a greater number of correct responses in the OBT task was associated with less frequent perception of SPS. This suggests that finding it easier to disembody and perform mental own-body transformations interferes with the ability to sense oneself. The results also show that higher schizotypal traits, as assessed through the SPQ, are associated with more frequent perception of SPS. Taken together, these results provide a coherent picture and suggest that embodiment is required in order to correctly feel oneself, as expressed through the perception of SPS. The ability to easily experience disembodiment reduces the sense of feeling oneself, and proneness to schizotypal traits produces body misperceptions that enhance and amplify this feeling. The results are discussed in the light of current knowledge and theories about body representations, taking into account attention and interoception as factors that influence body awareness. We offer explanations for perceptual aberrations, body-related delusions, and hallucinations based on misperceived or misinterpreted SPS, and we discuss possible mechanisms that may contribute to feeling and misperceiving oneself.

scholarly journals The body self-awareness among women practicing fitness: a preliminary study

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Brytek-Matera ◽  
Anna Kozieł
Keyword(s):  
Body Awareness ◽  
The Body ◽  
Interoceptive Awareness ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Body Attitude ◽  
Attitude Test ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Body Self ◽  
Body Attitude Test ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The purposes of the present study were to explore the relationship between body awareness and negative body attitude, interoceptive body awareness and physical self in women practicing fitness as well as to analyze the determinants of body awareness. The Body Awareness Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire and the Body Attitude Test were applied to 43 women practicing fitness and 32 non-fitness practitioners. Bodily self-awareness was connected with greater fitness practitioners’ interoceptive body awareness and greater physical self. Noticing and global esteem predicted body awareness in women practicing fitness.

scholarly journals Just a heartbeat away from one's body: interoceptive sensitivity predicts malleability of body-representations

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1717) ◽  
pp. 2470-2476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manos Tsakiris ◽  
Ana Tajadura- Jiménez ◽  
Marcello Costantini
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Stimulation ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Body Awareness ◽  
The Body ◽  
Interoceptive Awareness ◽  
Body Ownership ◽  
Body Representations ◽  
Monitoring Task ◽  
Interoceptive Sensitivity ◽  
First Time

Body-awareness relies on the representation of both interoceptive and exteroceptive percepts coming from one's body. However, the exact relationship and possible interaction of interoceptive and exteroceptive systems for body-awareness remain unknown. We sought to understand for the first time, to our knowledge, the interaction between interoceptive and exteroceptive awareness of the body. First, we measured interoceptive awareness with an established heartbeat monitoring task. We, then, used a multi-sensory-induced manipulation of body-ownership (e.g. Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI)) and we quantified the extent to which participants experienced ownership over a foreign body-part using behavioural, physiological and introspective measures. The results suggest that interoceptive sensitivity predicts the malleability of body representations, that is, people with low interoceptive sensitivity experienced a stronger illusion of ownership in the RHI. Importantly, this effect was not simply owing to a poor proprioceptive representation or differences in autonomic states of one's body prior to the multi-sensory stimulation, suggesting that interoceptive awareness modulates the online integration of multi-sensory body-percepts.

scholarly journals No Correlation between Perception of Meaning and Positive Schizotypy in a Female College Sample

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ubuka Tagami ◽  
Shu Imaizumi
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Category ◽  
Perceptual Dimension ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
College Sample ◽  
Individual Variations ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
Japanese Female ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Degraded Images ◽  
The Relationship

We visually perceive meaning from stimuli in the external world. There are inter-individual variations in the perception of meaning. A candidate factor to explain this variation is positive schizotypy, which is a personality analogous to positive symptoms of schizophrenia (e.g., visual hallucination). The present study investigated the relationship between positive schizotypy, and the perception of meaning derived from meaningful and meaningless visual stimuli. Positive schizotypy in Japanese female undergraduates (n = 35) was assessed by the Cognitive-Perceptual dimension of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. The participants were asked to report what they saw in noise-degraded images of meaningful objects (Experiment 1) and to respond whether the objects were meaningful (Experiment 2A) and which paired objects were meaningful (Experiment 2B). Positive schizotypy (i.e., Cognitive-Perceptual score) did not correlate with time to detect meaningful objects, and with false-alarm rates, sensitivity, and response criterion in the perception of meaning from meaningful and meaningless stimuli. These results were against our hypothesis and contradicted previous findings. The inconsistencies are discussed in terms of different methods (e.g., stimulus category) and conditions (e.g., paranormal beliefs).

The Relationship Between Multisensory Temporal Processing and Schizotypal Traits

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler C. Dalal ◽  
Anne-Marie Muller ◽  
Ryan A Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Temporal Order Judgment ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Magical Thinking ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
The Relationship

Recent literature has suggested that atypical sensory processing observed in schizophrenia may contribute to clinical symptomatology. Specifically, multisensory temporal processing was shown to be strongly associated with hallucination severity. Here, we explored whether this relationship extends to a broader spectrum of schizotypal traits, in line with the DSM-5’s shift towards a more dimensional approach to diagnostic criteria within Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Fifty-one participants completed an audiovisual temporal order judgment task as a measure of multisensory temporal processing and self-reported levels of schizotypal traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. These data revealed two novel findings. First, less precise multisensory temporal processing was related to higher overall levels of schizotypal traits. Second, this relationship was specific to the cognitive-perceptual domain, and more specifically, the Unusual Perceptual Experiences and Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking measures. Previous literature has shown that less precise multisensory temporal processing was related to the severity of hallucinations in schizophrenia. These findings provide a novel, direct extension of this previous work by demonstrating that this relationship applies to traits across the schizophrenia spectrum, including at the subclinical level.

The Immunity of the Sense of Ownership

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédérique de Vignemont
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Sense Of Ownership ◽  
Bodily Sensations ◽  
The Relationship

Are bodily self-ascriptions immune to error through misidentification (IEM)? It is classically assumed that I can be wrong about whose legs are crossed when I have access to them through vision, but not through proprioception. Although the epistemic difference between vision and proprioception is intuitive, one may question its generality. Judgements of ownership that are grounded on bodily sensations can indeed be incorrect, whereas the body can be visually presented in such a way that it can be only one’s own body. This chapter will reconsider which experiences can ground bodily judgements that manifest IEM. This will help us analysing the relationship between the phenomenological phenomenon of bodily ownership and the epistemic phenomenon of IEM. The chapter will argue that it is important to keep the two phenomena apart: one should not conceive of feelings of ownership as the phenomenological counterpart of bodily IEM.

Relationship between Schizotypal and Borderline Traits in College Students

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 306-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero ◽  
Serafín Lemos-Giráldez ◽  
Mercedes Paino ◽  
Susana Sierra-Baigrie ◽  
José Muñiz
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Lack Of Control ◽  
Borderline Personality Traits ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽  
The Relationship

The main objective of the present investigation was to analyze the relationship between self-reported schizotypal and borderline personality traits in a sample of 759 college students (M = 19.63 years; SD = 2.03). For this purpose, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQB; Raine and Benishay, 1995) and Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006) were administered. The results showed that schizotypal and borderline features are partially related at subclinical level. The exploratory factor analysis conducted on the subscales revealed a three-factor solution comprised of the following factors: Identity/Interpersonal, Lack of Control and Schizotypal. The canonical correlation analysis showed that schizotypal features and borderline personality traits shared 34.8 % of the variance. The data highlight the overlap between schizotypal and borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults. Future studies should continue to examine the relationship and the degree of overlap between these traits in community samples.

scholarly journals Body Representations and Cognitive Ontology: Drawing the boundaries of the body image

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Gadsby
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
Body Representation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Reciprocal Interaction ◽  
Body Representations ◽  
Alice In Wonderland ◽  
The Relationship

The distinction between body image and body schema has been incredibly influential in cognitive neuroscience. Recently, researchers have begun to speculate about the relationship between these representations (Gadsby, 2017; 2018; Pitron & de Vignemont, 2017; Pitron et al., 2018). Within this emerging literature, Pitron and colleagues (2018) proposed that the long-term body image and long-term body schema co-construct one another, through a process of reciprocal interaction. In proposing this model, they make two assumptions: that the long-term body image incorporates the spatial characteristics of tools, and that it is distorted in the case of Alice in wonderland syndrome. Here, I challenge these assumptions, with a closer examination of what the term “long-term body image” refers to. In doing so, I draw out some important taxonomic principles for research into body representation.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of Melatonin in Obesity: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Qingyun Guan ◽  
Zixu Wang ◽  
Jing Cao ◽  
Yulan Dong ◽  
Yaoxing Chen
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
The Body ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Opioidergic System ◽  
Glucose And Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Global Public Health Problem

Obesity and its complications have become a prominent global public health problem that severely threatens human health. Melatonin, originally known as an effective antioxidant, is an endogenous hormone found throughout the body that serves various physiological functions. In recent decades, increasing attention has been paid to its unique function in regulating energy metabolism, especially in glucose and lipid metabolism. Accumulating evidence has established the relationship between melatonin and obesity; nevertheless, not all preclinical and clinical evidence indicates the anti-obesity effect of melatonin, which makes it remain to conclude the clinical effect of melatonin in the fight against obesity. In this review, we have summarized the current knowledge of melatonin in regulating obesity-related symptoms, with emphasis on its underlying mechanisms. The role of melatonin in regulating the lipid profile, adipose tissue, oxidative stress, and inflammation, as well as the interactions of melatonin with the circadian rhythm, gut microbiota, sleep disorder, as well as the α7nAChR, the opioidergic system, and exosomes, make melatonin a promising agent to open new avenues in the intervention of obesity.

scholarly journals The relationship between mindfulness and objective measures of body awareness: A meta-analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac N. Treves ◽  
Lawrence Y. Tello ◽  
Richard J. Davidson ◽  
Simon B. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Body Awareness ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Meditation Technique ◽  
Dispositional Trait ◽  
Bodily Sensations ◽  
Fail Safe ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractAlthough awareness of bodily sensations is a common mindfulness meditation technique, studies assessing the relationship between mindfulness and body awareness have provided mixed results. The current study sought to meta-analytically examine the relationship between mindfulness operationalized as a dispositional trait or a construct trained through short- (i.e., randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) or long-term mindfulness meditation practice with objective measures of body awareness accuracy. PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched. Studies were eligible if they reported the association between mindfulness and body awareness, were published in English, and included adults. Across 15 studies (17 independent samples), a small effect was found linking mindfulness with greater body awareness accuracy (g = 0.21 [0.08, 0.34], N = 879). When separated by study design, only RCTs continued to show a significant relationship (g = 0.20, [0.02, 0.38], k = 7, n = 505). Heterogeneity of effects was low (I2 < 25%), although with wide confidence intervals. Effects were not moderated by study quality. Low fail-safe N estimates reduce confidence in the observed effects. Results suggest a small but potentially detectable relationship between mindfulness and body awareness accuracy. Future investigations could examine individual differences in body awareness as a mechanism within mindfulness interventions.

Mind the Body

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédérique de Vignemont
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
The Body ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Bodily Awareness ◽  
Prosthetic Hands ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bodily Sensations ◽  
Internal Information ◽  
The Relationship

Our own body seems to be the object that we know the best for we constantly receive a flow of internal information about it. Yet bodily awareness has attracted little attention in the literature, possibly because it seems reducible to William James’s description of a “feeling of the same old body always there” (1890, p. 242). But it is not true that our body always feels so familiar. In particular, puzzling neurological disorders and new bodily illusions raise a wide range of questions about the relationship between the body and the self. Although most of the time we experience our body as our own, it is possible to report feeling parts of our body as alien. It is also possible to experience extraneous objects, such as prosthetic hands, as our own. Hence, what makes us feel this particular body as our own? The fact that we feel sensations there? The fact that we can voluntarily move it? Or the fact that it needs protection for self-preservation? To answer these questions, we need a better understanding of the various aspects of bodily self-awareness, including the spatiality of bodily sensations, their multimodality, their role in social cognition, their relation to action, and to self-defence. Mind the Body thus provides a comprehensive treatment of bodily awareness and of the sense of bodily ownership, combining philosophical analysis with recent experimental results from cognitive science.

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