Absence of reliable physiological signature of illusory body ownership revealed by fine-grained autonomic measurement during the rubber hand illusion.

ABSTRACT: The neural representation of a 'biological self' is linked theoretically to the control of bodily physiology. In an influential model, selfhood relates to internal agency and higher-order interoceptive representation, inferred from the predicted impact of efferent autonomic nervous activity on afferent viscerosensory feedback. Here we tested if an altered representation of physical self (illusory embodiment of an artificial hand) is accompanied by sustained shifts in autonomic activity. Participants (N = 37) underwent procedures for induction of the rubber hand illusion (synchronous stroking of own unseen hand and observed stroking of artificial hand) and a control condition (asychronous stroking). We recorded electrocardiography, electrodermal activity, and a non-invasive measure of multi

SUBMITTER: Critchley HD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8016256 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature