51
|
Velichkovsky BM, Krotkova OA, Kotov AA, Orlov VA, Verkhlyutov VM, Ushakov VL, Sharaev MG. Consciousness in a multilevel architecture: Evidence from the right side of the brain. Conscious Cogn 2018; 64:227-239. [PMID: 29903632 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 06/02/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
By taking into account Bruce Bridgeman's interest in an evolutionary framing of human cognition, we examine effective (cause-and-effect) connectivity among cortical structures related to different parts of the triune phylogenetic stratification: archicortex, paleocortex and neocortex. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 25 healthy subjects and spectral Dynamic Causal Modeling, we report interactions among 10 symmetrical left and right brain areas. Our results testify to general rightward and top-down biases in excitatory interactions of these structures during resting state, when self-related contemplation prevails over more objectified conceptual thinking. The right hippocampus is the only structure that shows bottom-up excitatory influences extending to the frontopolar cortex. The right ventrolateral cortex also plays a prominent role as it interacts with the majority of nodes within and between evolutionary distinct brain subdivisions. These results suggest the existence of several levels of cognitive-affective organization in the human brain and their profound lateralization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Boris M Velichkovsky
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia; M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia; Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia; Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany.
| | | | - Artemy A Kotov
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia; Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Vitaly M Verkhlyutov
- Institute of the Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the RAS, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vadim L Ushakov
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia; National Nuclear Research University "MEPhI", Moscow, Russia
| | - Maxim G Sharaev
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo, Moscow Region, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
52
|
Noel JP, Blanke O, Serino A. From multisensory integration in peripersonal space to bodily self-consciousness: from statistical regularities to statistical inference. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2018; 1426:146-165. [PMID: 29876922 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Integrating information across sensory systems is a critical step toward building a cohesive representation of the environment and one's body, and as illustrated by numerous illusions, scaffolds subjective experience of the world and self. In the last years, classic principles of multisensory integration elucidated in the subcortex have been translated into the language of statistical inference understood by the neocortical mantle. Most importantly, a mechanistic systems-level description of multisensory computations via probabilistic population coding and divisive normalization is actively being put forward. In parallel, by describing and understanding bodily illusions, researchers have suggested multisensory integration of bodily inputs within the peripersonal space as a key mechanism in bodily self-consciousness. Importantly, certain aspects of bodily self-consciousness, although still very much a minority, have been recently casted under the light of modern computational understandings of multisensory integration. In doing so, we argue, the field of bodily self-consciousness may borrow mechanistic descriptions regarding the neural implementation of inference computations outlined by the multisensory field. This computational approach, leveraged on the understanding of multisensory processes generally, promises to advance scientific comprehension regarding one of the most mysterious questions puzzling humankind, that is, how our brain creates the experience of a self in interaction with the environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Center for Neuroprosthetics (CNP), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
53
|
Hiromitsu K, Midorikawa A. Downward and Parallel Perspectives in an Experimental Study of Out-of-Body Experiences. Multisens Res 2018; 29:439-51. [PMID: 29384611 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) have been reported in patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders. According to these reports, the patients looked down on their body from overhead. Based on this phenomenon, we adopted a downward perspective in an experimentally induced OBE paradigm and compared responses to an OBE questionnaire (sensations of OBE) with self-location mapping (feelings of body drift). The results revealed a correlation between the sensation of an OBE and self-location under the downward-perspective condition but not under the parallel-perspective condition; however, no significant difference was observed between the two conditions. Thus, the effect of perspective on OBE illusion that has been reported in clinical research of OBE did not affect the results obtained in previous studies inducing OBE.
Collapse
|
54
|
Oscillatory brain mechanisms of the hypnotically-induced out-of-body experience. Cortex 2017; 96:19-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 06/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
|
55
|
Autoscopic Hallucination in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome: A Rare or Missed Phenomenon? Case Rep Psychiatry 2017; 2017:2598973. [PMID: 28811950 PMCID: PMC5546073 DOI: 10.1155/2017/2598973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Autoscopic phenomenon, a psychic illusionary duplication of one's own self, has been the subject of interest in the literature and science for years. It has been reported in various diseases of the central nervous system but with an unknown mechanism. Hallucinations are a common presentation in alcohol dependence syndrome during delirium tremens and as induced disorder. However, autoscopic hallucination has been rarely reported in the cases of alcohol dependence. We present a case of a 40-year-old man who experienced autoscopic hallucination during the withdrawal state of alcohol. He was successfully treated with detoxification and an antipsychotic medication and was doing well. The case highlights the need for strong suspicion and exploration of the autoscopic hallucination and autoscopic phenomenon in general in cases of alcohol dependence syndrome.
Collapse
|
56
|
Ferri F, Ambrosini E, Pinti P, Merla A, Costantini M. The role of expectation in multisensory body representation - neural evidence. Eur J Neurosci 2017. [PMID: 28644914 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sensory events contribute to body ownership, the feeling that the body belongs to me. However, the encoding of sensory events is not only reactive, but also proactive in that our brain generates prediction about forthcoming stimuli. In previous studies, we have shown that prediction of sensory events is a sufficient condition to induce the sense of body ownership. In this study, we investigated the underlying neural mechanisms. Participants were seated with their right arm resting upon a table just below another smaller table. Hence, the real hand was hidden from the participant's view and a life-sized rubber model of a right hand was placed on the small table in front of them. Participants observed a wooden plank while approaching - without touching - the rubber hand. We measured the phenomenology of the illusion by means of questionnaire. Neural activity was recorded by means of near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results showed higher activation of multisensory parietal cortices in the rubber hand illusion induced by touch expectation. Furthermore, such activity was correlated with the subjective feeling of owning the rubber hand. Our results enrich current models of body ownership suggesting that our multisensory brain regions generate prediction on what could be my body and what could not. This finding might have interesting implications in all those cases in which body representation is altered, anorexia, bulimia nervosa and obesity, among others.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Ferri
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | | | - Paola Pinti
- Infrared Imaging Lab, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Arcangelo Merla
- Infrared Imaging Lab, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Marcello Costantini
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.,Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.,Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies - ITAB, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
57
|
Cerebral metabolic changes related to clinical parameters in idiopathic anosmic patients during olfactory stimulation: a pilot investigation. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2017; 274:2649-2655. [PMID: 28283789 DOI: 10.1007/s00405-017-4524-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/25/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Idiopathic olfactory loss neural consequences have been studied especially by means of magnetic resonance imaging. Since other functional neuroimaging technique findings are lacking in the literature, present study used a validated 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) functional positron emission tomography procedure under olfactory stimulation (OS) to assess brain changes in idiopathic anosmic patients (IAPs) in comparison with healthy subjects (HS). A voxel-based analysis between these groups was used to evaluate FDG uptake in the brain and perform a correlation analysis between metabolic responses and the Sniffin' stick test as well as intensity visuo-analogue scores and disease duration (DD). A significant relative decrease of glucose metabolism in the right and left frontal lobes, left insula, right parietal lobe, and left occipital, temporal and parietal lobes was found in IAPs during OS. The same condition resulted in a relative higher glucose metabolism in the right cerebellum in IAPs. Moreover, a negative correlation between DD and FDG uptake in the left temporo-parietal joint was found in IAPs. Such a correlation suggested a possible involvement of this area metabolic decrease in self-consciousness impairment, which is known to affect IAPs. Present preliminary functional results could be of interest to further deepen such neural impairments possibly useful for future perspective in pharmaceutical and rehabilitative protocols.
Collapse
|
58
|
Dieguez S, Lopez C. The bodily self: Insights from clinical and experimental research. Ann Phys Rehabil Med 2017; 60:198-207. [DOI: 10.1016/j.rehab.2016.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Revised: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
59
|
Blefari ML, Martuzzi R, Salomon R, Bello-Ruiz J, Herbelin B, Serino A, Blanke O. Bilateral Rolandic operculum processing underlying heartbeat awareness reflects changes in bodily self-consciousness. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 45:1300-1312. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Revised: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Laura Blefari
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Roberto Martuzzi
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva; Geneva Switzerland
| | - Roy Salomon
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Javier Bello-Ruiz
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences; University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV); Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Department of Neurology; Geneva University Hospital; Geneva Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
60
|
Adaptive and maladaptive neural compensatory consequences of sensory deprivation-From a phantom percept perspective. Prog Neurobiol 2017; 153:1-17. [PMID: 28408150 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
It is suggested that the brain undergoes plastic changes in order to adapt to changing environmental needs. Sensory deprivation results in decreased input to the brain leading to adaptive or maladaptive changes. Although several theories hypothesize the mechanism of these adaptive and maladaptive changes, the course of action taken by the brain heavily depends on the age of incidence of damage. The growing body of literature on the topic proposes that maladaptive changes in the brain are instrumental in creating phantom percepts, defined as the perception of a sensory experience in the absence of a physical stimulus. The current article reviews the mechanisms of adaptive and maladaptive plasticity in the brain in congenital, early, and late-onset sensory deprivation in conjunction with the phantom percepts in the different sensory domains. We propose that the mechanisms of adaptive and maladaptive plasticity fall under a universal construct of updating hierarchical Bayesian prediction errors. This theory of the Bayesian brain hypothesizes that the brain constantly compares its internal milieu with changing environmental cues and either adjusts its predictions or discards the change, depending on the novelty or salience of the external stimulus. We propose that adaptive plasticity reflects both successful bottom-up compensation and top-down updating of the model while maladaptive plasticity reflects failure in one or both mechanisms, resulting in a constant prediction-error. Finally, we hypothesize that phantom percepts are generated by the brain as a solution to this prediction error and are thus a manifestation of unsuccessful adaptation to sensory deprivation.
Collapse
|
61
|
Affiliation(s)
- Roy Salomon
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
62
|
Smolyanskiy N, Gonzalez-Franco M. Stereoscopic First Person View System for Drone Navigation. Front Robot AI 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2017.00011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
|
63
|
Huang HC, Lee YT, Chen WY, Liang C. The Sense of 1PP-Location Contributes to Shaping the Perceived Self-location Together with the Sense of Body-Location. Front Psychol 2017; 8:370. [PMID: 28352241 PMCID: PMC5348511 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-location—the sense of where I am in space—provides an experiential anchor for one's interaction with the environment. In the studies of full-body illusions, many researchers have defined self-location solely in terms of body-location—the subjective feeling of where my body is. Although this view is useful, there is an issue regarding whether it can fully accommodate the role of 1PP-location—the sense of where my first-person perspective is located in space. In this study, we investigate self-location by comparing body-location and 1PP-location: using a head-mounted display (HMD) and a stereo camera, the subjects watched their own body standing in front of them and received tactile stimulations. We manipulated their senses of body-location and 1PP-location in three different conditions: the participants standing still (Basic condition), asking them to move forward (Walking condition), and swiftly moving the stereo camera away from their body (Visual condition). In the Walking condition, the participants watched their body moving away from their 1PP. In the Visual condition, the scene seen via the HMD was systematically receding. Our data show that, under different manipulations of movement, the spatial unity between 1PP-location and body-location can be temporarily interrupted. Interestingly, we also observed a “double-body effect.” We further suggest that it is better to consider body-location and 1PP-location as interrelated but distinct factors that jointly support the sense of self-location.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hsu-Chia Huang
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Tung Lee
- Department of Philosophy, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yeo Chen
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Caleb Liang
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Department of Philosophy, National Taiwan UniversityTaipei, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
64
|
Deroualle D, Toupet M, van Nechel C, Duquesne U, Hautefort C, Lopez C. Anchoring the Self to the Body in Bilateral Vestibular Failure. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170488. [PMID: 28107424 PMCID: PMC5249123 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings suggest that vestibular information plays a significant role in anchoring the self to the body. Out-of-body experiences of neurological origin are frequently associated with vestibular sensations, and galvanic vestibular stimulation in healthy participants anchors the self to the body. Here, we provide the first objective measures of anchoring the self to the body in chronic bilateral vestibular failure (BVF). We compared 23 patients with idiopathic BVF to 23 healthy participants in a series of experiments addressing several aspects of visuo-spatial perspective taking and embodiment. In Experiment 1, participants were involved in a virtual "dot-counting task" from their own perspective or the perspective of a distant avatar, to measure implicit and explicit perspective taking, respectively. In both groups, response times increased similarly when the avatar's and participant's viewpoint differed, for both implicit and explicit perspective taking. In Experiment 2, participants named ambiguous letters (such as "b" or "q") traced on their forehead that could be perceived from an internal or external perspective. The frequency of perceiving ambiguous letters from an internal perspective was similar in both groups. In Experiment 3, participants completed a questionnaire measuring the experienced self/body and self/environment "closeness". Both groups reported a similar embodied experience. Altogether, our data show that idiopathic BVF does not change implicit and explicit perspective taking nor subjective anchoring of the self to the body. Our negative findings offer insight into the multisensory mechanisms of embodiment. Only acute peripheral vestibular disorders and neurological disorders in vestibular brain areas (characterized by strong multisensory conflicts) may evoke disembodied experiences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michel Toupet
- IRON, Institut de Recherche en Oto-Neurologie, Paris, France
- Centre d’Explorations Fonctionnelles Oto-Neurologiques, Paris, France
| | - Christian van Nechel
- IRON, Institut de Recherche en Oto-Neurologie, Paris, France
- Unité Troubles de l’Equilibre et Vertiges, CHU Brugmann, Bruxelles, Belgique
- Unité de Neuro-Ophtalmologie, CHU Erasme, Bruxelles, Belgique
- Clinique des Vertiges, Bruxelles, Belgique
| | - Ulla Duquesne
- IRON, Institut de Recherche en Oto-Neurologie, Paris, France
- Unité Troubles de l’Equilibre et Vertiges, CHU Brugmann, Bruxelles, Belgique
- Clinique des Vertiges, Bruxelles, Belgique
| | - Charlotte Hautefort
- IRON, Institut de Recherche en Oto-Neurologie, Paris, France
- Service ORL, Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France
| | | |
Collapse
|
65
|
Clinical aspects of Out-of-Body Experiences: Trauma, reflexivity and symbolisation. EVOLUTION PSYCHIATRIQUE 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evopsy.2016.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
66
|
Rabeyron T, Caussié S. Clinique des sorties hors du corps : trauma, réflexivité et symbolisation. EVOLUTION PSYCHIATRIQUE 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evopsy.2015.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
67
|
The second me: Seeing the real body during humanoid robot embodiment produces an illusion of bi-location. Conscious Cogn 2016; 46:99-109. [PMID: 27689514 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2016] [Revised: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Whole-body embodiment studies have shown that synchronized multi-sensory cues can trick a healthy human mind to perceive self-location outside the bodily borders, producing an illusion that resembles an out-of-body experience (OBE). But can a healthy mind also perceive the sense of self in more than one body at the same time? To answer this question, we created a novel artificial reduplication of one's body using a humanoid robot embodiment system. We first enabled individuals to embody the humanoid robot by providing them with audio-visual feedback and control of the robot head movements and walk, and then explored the self-location and self-identification perceived by them when they observed themselves through the embodied robot. Our results reveal that, when individuals are exposed to the humanoid body reduplication, they experience an illusion that strongly resembles heautoscopy, suggesting that a healthy human mind is able to bi-locate in two different bodies simultaneously.
Collapse
|
68
|
Kanayama N, Morandi A, Hiraki K, Pavani F. Causal Dynamics of Scalp Electroencephalography Oscillation During the Rubber Hand Illusion. Brain Topogr 2016; 30:122-135. [PMID: 27620801 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-016-0519-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Rubber hand illusion (RHI) is an important phenomenon for the investigation of body ownership and self/other distinction. The illusion is promoted by the spatial and temporal contingencies of visual inputs near a fake hand and physical touches to the real hand. The neural basis of this phenomenon is not fully understood. We hypothesized that the RHI is associated with a fronto-parietal circuit, and the goal of this study was to determine the dynamics of neural oscillation associated with this phenomenon. We measured electroencephalography while delivering spatially congruent/incongruent visuo-tactile stimulations to fake and real hands. We applied time-frequency analyses and calculated renormalized partial directed coherence (rPDC) to examine cortical dynamics during the bodily illusion. When visuo-tactile stimulation was spatially congruent, and the fake and real hands were aligned, we observed a reduced causal relationship from the medial frontal to the parietal regions with respect to baseline, around 200 ms post-stimulus. This change in rPDC was negatively correlated with a subjective report of the RHI intensity. Moreover, we observed a link between the proprioceptive drift and an increased causal relationship from the parietal cortex to the right somatosensory cortex during a relatively late period (550-750 ms post-stimulus). These findings suggest a two-stage process in which (1) reduced influence from the medial frontal regions over the parietal areas unlocks the mechanisms that preserve body integrity, allowing RHI to emerge; and (2) information processed at the parietal cortex is back-projected to the somatosensory cortex contralateral to the real hand, inducing proprioceptive drift.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noriaki Kanayama
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan.
| | - Alberto Morandi
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Kazuo Hiraki
- Department of General Systems Studies in Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan
| | - Francesco Pavani
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
69
|
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hallucinations that involve shifts in the subjectively experienced location of the self, have been termed "out-of-body experiences" (OBEs). Early psychiatric accounts cast OBEs as a specific instance of depersonalisation and derealisation disorder (DPD-DR). However, during feelings of alienation and lack of body realism in DPD-DR the self is experienced within the physical body. Deliberate forms of "disembodiment" enable humans to imagine another's visuo-spatial perspective taking (VPT), thus, if a strong relationship between deliberate and spontaneous forms of disembodiment could be revealed, then uncontrolled OBEs could be "the other side of the coin" of a uniquely human capacity. METHODS We present a narrative review of behavioural and neuroimaging work emphasising methodological and theoretical aspects of OBE and VPT research and a potential relationship. RESULTS Results regarding a direct behavioural relationship between VPT and OBE are mixed and we discuss reasons by pointing out the importance of using realistic tasks and recruiting genuine OBEers instead of general DPD-DR patients. Furthermore, we review neuroimaging evidence showing overlapping neural substrates between VPT and OBE, providing a strong argument for a relationship between the two processes. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that OBE should be regarded as a necessary implication of VPT ability in humans, or even as a necessary and potentially sufficient condition for the evolution of VPT.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Kessler
- a Aston Brain Centre , Aston University , Birmingham UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
70
|
Eddy CM. The junction between self and other? Temporo-parietal dysfunction in neuropsychiatry. Neuropsychologia 2016; 89:465-477. [PMID: 27457686 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2016] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 07/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clare M Eddy
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, BSMHFT The Barberry, National Centre for Mental Health, Birmingham, UK; School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
71
|
Abstract
Vestibular signals are integrated with signals from other sensory modalities. This convergence could reflect an important mechanism for maintaining the perception of the body. Here we review the current literature in order to develop a framework for understanding how the vestibular system contributes to body representation. According to recent models, we distinguish between three processes for body representation, and we look at whether vestibular signals might influence each process. These are (i) somatosensation, the primary sensory processing of somatic stimuli, (ii) somatoperception, the processes of constructing percepts and experiences of somatic objects and events and (iii) somatorepresentation, the knowledge about the body as a physical object in the world. Vestibular signals appear to contribute to all three levels in this model of body processing. Thus, the traditional view of the vestibular system as a low-level, dedicated orienting module tends to underestimate the pervasive role of vestibular input in bodily self-awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Raffaella Ferrè
- a Department of Psychology , Royal Holloway University of London , Egham , UK.,b Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience , University College London , London , UK
| | - Patrick Haggard
- b Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience , University College London , London , UK
| |
Collapse
|
72
|
|
73
|
Maselli A. Allocentric and egocentric manipulations of the sense of self-location in full-body illusions and their relation with the sense of body ownership. Cogn Process 2016. [PMID: 26220702 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-015-0667-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Self-location refers to the experience of occupying a given position in the environment. Recent research has addressed the sense of self-location as one of the key components of self-consciousness, together with the experience of owning the physical body (ownership) (Blanke and Metzinger, Trends Cogn Sci 13:7-13 in 2009. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.10.003 ). Experimentally controlled full-body illusions proved to be valuable research tools to study these components and their interaction, and to explore their underlying neural underpinning. The focus of this manuscript is to provide a close look into the nuances of different illusory experiences affecting the sense of self-location and to examine their relation to the concurrent experienced sense of body ownership. On the basis of previous reviewed studies, it is proposed that the sense of self-location may be regarded as the blending of two paralllel representations: the abstract allocentric coding of the position occupied in the environment, mainly associated with visual-perspective, and the egocentric mapping of somatosensory sensations into the external space, mainly associated with peripersonal space. Open questions to be addressed by future research are further addressed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Maselli
- Laboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Roma, Italy,
| |
Collapse
|
74
|
Bos EM, Spoor JKH, Smits M, Schouten JW, Vincent AJPE. Out-of-Body Experience During Awake Craniotomy. World Neurosurg 2016; 92:586.e9-586.e13. [PMID: 27178238 DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2016.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Revised: 05/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The out-of-body experience (OBE), during which a person feels as if he or she is spatially removed from the physical body, is a mystical phenomenon because of its association with near-death experiences. Literature implicates the cortex at the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) as the possible anatomic substrate for OBE. CASE DESCRIPTION We present a patient who had an out-of-body experience during an awake craniotomy for resection of low-grade glioma. During surgery, stimulation of subcortical white matter in the left TPJ repetitively induced OBEs, in which the patient felt as if she was floating above the operating table looking down on herself. CONCLUSIONS We repetitively induced OBE by subcortical stimulation near the left TPJ during awake craniotomy. Diffusion tensor imaging tractography implicated the posterior thalamic radiation as a possible substrate for autoscopic phenomena.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eelke M Bos
- Department of Neurosurgery, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Jochem K H Spoor
- Department of Neurosurgery, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marion Smits
- Department of Radiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Joost W Schouten
- Department of Neurosurgery, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | | |
Collapse
|
75
|
What Happens in Your Brain During Mental Dissociation? A Quest Towards Neural Markers of a Unified Sense of Self. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40473-016-0063-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
76
|
Tomasino B, Campanella F, Fabbro F. Medial orbital gyrus modulation during spatial perspective changes: Pre- vs. post-8weeks mindfulness meditation. Conscious Cogn 2016; 40:147-58. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2015] [Revised: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 01/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
77
|
Manuello J, Vercelli U, Nani A, Costa T, Cauda F. Mindfulness meditation and consciousness: An integrative neuroscientific perspective. Conscious Cogn 2016; 40:67-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
|
78
|
Rhythm makes the world go round: An MEG-TMS study on the role of right TPJ theta oscillations in embodied perspective taking. Cortex 2016; 75:68-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2015] [Revised: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
79
|
Balestrini S, Francione S, Mai R, Castana L, Casaceli G, Marino D, Provinciali L, Cardinale F, Tassi L. Reply: The dorsal cingulate cortex as a critical gateway in the network supporting conscious awareness. Brain 2015; 139:e24. [PMID: 26719381 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Simona Balestrini
- 1 Neurological Clinic, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | - Stefano Francione
- 2 'Claudio Munari' Epilepsy Surgery Centre, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Mai
- 2 'Claudio Munari' Epilepsy Surgery Centre, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Castana
- 2 'Claudio Munari' Epilepsy Surgery Centre, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Casaceli
- 2 'Claudio Munari' Epilepsy Surgery Centre, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniela Marino
- 3 Department of Neurological and Sensorial Sciences, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Leandro Provinciali
- 1 Neurological Clinic, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | | | - Laura Tassi
- 2 'Claudio Munari' Epilepsy Surgery Centre, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
80
|
Tomasino B, Fabbro F. Editorial: Neuroimaging and Neuropsychology of Meditation States. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1757. [PMID: 26635667 PMCID: PMC4652575 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Franco Fabbro
- Department of Medical and Biological Sciences, University of Udine Udine, Italy ; Perceptual Robotics Laboratory, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies Pisa, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
81
|
Pozeg P, Galli G, Blanke O. Those are Your Legs: The Effect of Visuo-Spatial Viewpoint on Visuo-Tactile Integration and Body Ownership. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1749. [PMID: 26635663 PMCID: PMC4646976 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2015] [Accepted: 10/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Experiencing a body part as one's own, i.e., body ownership, depends on the integration of multisensory bodily signals (including visual, tactile, and proprioceptive information) with the visual top-down signals from peripersonal space. Although it has been shown that the visuo-spatial viewpoint from where the body is seen is an important visual top-down factor for body ownership, different studies have reported diverging results. Furthermore, the role of visuo-spatial viewpoint (sometime also called first-person perspective) has only been studied for hands or the whole body, but not for the lower limbs. We thus investigated whether and how leg visuo-tactile integration and leg ownership depended on the visuo-spatial viewpoint from which the legs were seen and the anatomical similarity of the visual leg stimuli. Using a virtual leg illusion, we tested the strength of visuo-tactile integration of leg stimuli using the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) as well as the subjective sense of leg ownership (assessed by a questionnaire). Fifteen participants viewed virtual legs or non-corporeal control objects, presented either from their habitual first-person viewpoint or from a viewpoint that was rotated by 90°(third-person viewpoint), while applying visuo-tactile stroking between the participants legs and the virtual legs shown on a head-mounted display. The data show that the first-person visuo-spatial viewpoint significantly boosts the visuo-tactile integration as well as the sense of leg ownership. Moreover, the viewpoint-dependent increment of the visuo-tactile integration was only found in the conditions when participants viewed the virtual legs (absent for control objects). These results confirm the importance of first person visuo-spatial viewpoint for the integration of visuo-tactile stimuli and extend findings from the upper extremity and the trunk to visuo-tactile integration and ownership for the legs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Polona Pozeg
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Lausanne, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Giulia Galli
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Lausanne, Switzerland ; Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Fondazione Santa Lucia , Rome, Italy
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Lausanne, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Lausanne, Switzerland ; Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva , Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
82
|
In the presence of others: Self-location, balance control and vestibular processing. Neurophysiol Clin 2015; 45:241-54. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2015.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2015] [Revised: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
|
83
|
Changing perspective: The role of vestibular signals. Neuropsychologia 2015; 79:175-85. [PMID: 26311354 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Revised: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions depend on mechanisms such as the ability to take another person's viewpoint, i.e. visuo-spatial perspective taking. However, little is known about the sensorimotor mechanisms underpinning perspective taking. Because vestibular signals play roles in mental rotation and spatial cognition tasks and because damage to the vestibular cortex can disturb egocentric perspective, vestibular signals stand as important candidates for the sensorimotor foundations of perspective taking. Yet, no study merged natural full-body vestibular stimulations and explicit visuo-spatial perspective taking tasks in virtual environments. In Experiment 1, we combined natural vestibular stimulation on a rotatory chair with virtual reality to test how vestibular signals are processed to simulate the viewpoint of a distant avatar. While they were rotated, participants tossed a ball to a virtual character from the viewpoint of a distant avatar. Our results showed that vestibular signals influence perspective taking in a direction-specific way: participants were faster when their physical body rotated in the same direction as the mental rotation needed to take the avatar's viewpoint. In Experiment 2, participants realized 3D object mental rotations, which did not involve perspective taking, during the same whole-body vestibular stimulation. Our results demonstrated that vestibular stimulation did not affect 3D object mental rotations. Altogether, these data indicate that vestibular signals have a direction-specific influence on visuo-spatial perspective taking (self-centered mental imagery), but not a general effect on mental imagery. Findings from this study suggest that vestibular signals contribute to one of the most crucial mechanisms of social cognition: understanding others' actions.
Collapse
|
84
|
Balestrini S, Francione S, Mai R, Castana L, Casaceli G, Marino D, Provinciali L, Cardinale F, Tassi L. Multimodal responses induced by cortical stimulation of the parietal lobe: a stereo-electroencephalography study. Brain 2015; 138:2596-607. [DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
|
85
|
Ganesh S, van Schie HT, Cross ES, de Lange FP, Wigboldus DHJ. Disentangling neural processes of egocentric and allocentric mental spatial transformations using whole-body photos of self and other. Neuroimage 2015; 116:30-9. [PMID: 25976923 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2014] [Revised: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 05/02/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental imagery of one's body moving through space is important for imagining changing visuospatial perspectives, as well as for determining how we might appear to other people. Previous neuroimaging research has implicated the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) in this process. It is unclear, however, how neural activity in the TPJ relates to the rotation perspectives from which mental spatial transformation (MST) of one's own body can take place, i.e. from an egocentric or an allocentric perspective. It is also unclear whether TPJ involvement in MST is self-specific or whether the TPJ may also be involved in MST of other human bodies. The aim of the current study was to disentangle neural processes involved in egocentric versus allocentric MSTs of human bodies representing self and other. We measured functional brain activity of healthy participants while they performed egocentric and allocentric MSTs in relation to whole-body photographs of themselves and a same-sex stranger. Findings indicated higher blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in bilateral TPJ during egocentric versus allocentric MST. Moreover, BOLD response in the TPJ during egocentric MST correlated positively with self-report scores indicating how awkward participants felt while viewing whole-body photos of themselves. These findings considerably advance our understanding of TPJ involvement in MST and its interplay with self-awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shanti Ganesh
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Hein T van Schie
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Emily S Cross
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynned LL57 2AS, United Kingdom
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Daniël H J Wigboldus
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
86
|
Schmalzl L, Powers C, Henje Blom E. Neurophysiological and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the effects of yoga-based practices: towards a comprehensive theoretical framework. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:235. [PMID: 26005409 PMCID: PMC4424840 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
During recent decades numerous yoga-based practices (YBP) have emerged in the West, with their aims ranging from fitness gains to therapeutic benefits and spiritual development. Yoga is also beginning to spark growing interest within the scientific community, and yoga-based interventions have been associated with measureable changes in physiological parameters, perceived emotional states, and cognitive functioning. YBP typically involve a combination of postures or movement sequences, conscious regulation of the breath, and various techniques to improve attentional focus. However, so far little if any research has attempted to deconstruct the role of these different component parts in order to better understand their respective contribution to the effects of YBP. A clear operational definition of yoga-based therapeutic interventions for scientific purposes, as well as a comprehensive theoretical framework from which testable hypotheses can be formulated, is therefore needed. Here we propose such a framework, and outline the bottom-up neurophysiological and top-down neurocognitive mechanisms hypothesized to be at play in YBP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Schmalzl
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA, USA ; VA San Diego Healthcare System La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Chivon Powers
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis Davis, CA, USA
| | - Eva Henje Blom
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
87
|
Facco E, Agrillo C, Greyson B. Epistemological implications of near-death experiences and other non-ordinary mental expressions: Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness. Med Hypotheses 2015; 85:85-93. [PMID: 25892488 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2015.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2015] [Revised: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 04/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
During the last decades an increasing interest has developed in the so-called altered state of consciousness (ASCs); among these, near-death experiences (NDEs) are one of the most intriguing and debated examples. NDEs are deep and universal experiences with a clear phenomenology and incidence, while some of their features challenge the current views of human consciousness (focused on neural circuits and based on the concept of mind as a byproduct of brain circuitry) with relevant epistemological and historical implications. The origin of the ruling mechanist-reductionist paradigm can be traced back to Descartes' radical separation of res cogitans and res extensa and the conflict between the nascent science and the Inquisition; this led to removing the subjective properties of mind from the field of scientific interest, relegating them to philosophy and theology in order to enable the development of modern science. However, the physics of the 20th century has eventually moved beyond the classical paradigm, permitting a profound renewal of scientific interest in the mind. Modern research on NDEs has contributed to reopening the debate surrounding the Cartesian separation, the mind-brain relationship and the nature of consciousness. It is now time to reappraise the relevance, strengths, and weaknesses of the available scientific interpretations of NDEs, their relationship with other ASCs, as well as the very concept of ASC; the latter looks to be ill-founded, suggesting the need for: (a) a revision of the conventional approach to subjective phenomena, including both the third- and first-person perspective; and (b) a deep reflection on the possible links between different non-ordinary mental expression, as regards both their phenomenology and mechanisms from a non-pathological perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Facco
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Italy; Inst. F. Granone - Italian Center of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (CIICS), Turin, Italy.
| | - Christian Agrillo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Italy; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Italy
| | - Bruce Greyson
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia, United States
| |
Collapse
|
88
|
Ronchi R, Bello-Ruiz J, Lukowska M, Herbelin B, Cabrilo I, Schaller K, Blanke O. Right insular damage decreases heartbeat awareness and alters cardio-visual effects on bodily self-consciousness. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:11-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Revised: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
89
|
Lucci G, Pazzaglia M. Towards multiple interactions of inner and outer sensations in corporeal awareness. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:163. [PMID: 25883564 PMCID: PMC4381648 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Under normal circumstances, different inner- and outer-body sources are integrated to form coherent and accurate mental experiences of the state of the body, leading to the phenomenon of corporeal awareness. How these processes are affected by changes in inner and outer inputs to the body remains unclear. Here, we aim to present empirical evidence in which people with a massive sensory and motor disconnection may continue to experience feelings of general body state awareness without complete control of their inner and outer states. In these clinical populations, the activity of the neural structures subserving inner and outer body processing can be manipulated and tuned by means of body illusions that are usually based on multisensory stimulation. We suggest that a multisensory therapeutic approach could be adopted in the context of therapies for patients suffering from deafferentation and deefferentation. In this way, these individuals could regain a more complete feeling and control of the sensations they experience, which vary widely depending on their neurological condition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giuliana Lucci
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy ; Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza" Rome, Italy
| | - Mariella Pazzaglia
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy ; Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza" Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
90
|
Kilteni K, Maselli A, Kording KP, Slater M. Over my fake body: body ownership illusions for studying the multisensory basis of own-body perception. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:141. [PMID: 25852524 PMCID: PMC4371812 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2014] [Accepted: 02/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Which is my body and how do I distinguish it from the bodies of others, or from objects in the surrounding environment? The perception of our own body and more particularly our sense of body ownership is taken for granted. Nevertheless, experimental findings from body ownership illusions (BOIs), show that under specific multisensory conditions, we can experience artificial body parts or fake bodies as our own body parts or body, respectively. The aim of the present paper is to discuss how and why BOIs are induced. We review several experimental findings concerning the spatial, temporal, and semantic principles of crossmodal stimuli that have been applied to induce BOIs. On the basis of these principles, we discuss theoretical approaches concerning the underlying mechanism of BOIs. We propose a conceptualization based on Bayesian causal inference for addressing how our nervous system could infer whether an object belongs to our own body, using multisensory, sensorimotor, and semantic information, and we discuss how this can account for several experimental findings. Finally, we point to neural network models as an implementational framework within which the computational problem behind BOIs could be addressed in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Konstantina Kilteni
- Event Lab, Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain ; IR3C Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antonella Maselli
- Event Lab, Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Konrad P Kording
- Sensory Motor Performance Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA ; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University Chicago, IL, USA ; Department of Physiology, Northwestern University Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Mel Slater
- Event Lab, Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain ; IR3C Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain ; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Passeig Lluís Companys 23 Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
91
|
Craffert PF. When is an Out-of-Body Experience (Not) an Out-of-Body Experience? Reflections about Out-of-Body Phenomena in Neuroscientific Research. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND CULTURE 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/15685373-12342138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In recent years there has been an increased interest in the study of out-of-body experiences (obes) by cognitive and neuro-scientists. Nowadays, far-reaching claims regarding the uncovering of the neural mechanisms and pathways, as well as the mystery ofobes in the anthropological and historical record are on offer. In this article the implicit assumption thatobes are much better understood and that real progress has been made are questioned on the basis of the definitional and conceptual problems that still haunt this area of research. It is suggested that progress will only be registered once the spectrum of out-of-body phenomena (obp) is recognized and attention is paid to the neurocultural complexity of distinct instances ofobes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pieter F. Craffert
- College of Human Sciences, University of South AfricaPretoriaSouth Africa
| |
Collapse
|
92
|
Ferrè ER, Haggard P. Vestibular–Somatosensory Interactions: A Mechanism in Search of a Function? Multisens Res 2015; 28:559-79. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
No unimodal vestibular cortex has been identified in the human brain. Rather, vestibular inputs are strongly integrated with signals from other sensory modalities, such as vision, touch and proprioception. This convergence could reflect an important mechanism for maintaining a perception of the body, including individual body parts, relative to the rest of the environment. Neuroimaging, electrophysiological and psychophysical studies showed evidence for multisensory interactions between vestibular and somatosensory signals. However, no convincing overall theoretical framework has been proposed for vestibular–somatosensory interactions, and it remains unclear whether such percepts are by-products of neural convergence, or a functional multimodal integration. Here we review the current literature on vestibular–multisensory interactions in order to develop a framework for understanding the functions of such multimodal interaction. We propose that the target of vestibular–somatosensory interactions is a form of self-representation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Raffaella Ferrè
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Patrick Haggard
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| |
Collapse
|
93
|
Abstract
The major features in eating disorders are a preoccupation with food and its consumption and body dissatisfaction. Diagnostic manuals provide clusters of criteria according to which affected individuals can be categorized into one or other group of eating disorder. Yet, when considering the high proportion of comorbidities and ignoring the content of the symptoms (food, body), the major features seem to yield obsessional-compulsive, addictive, and impulsive qualities. In the present article, we review studies from the neuroscientific literature (mainly lesion studies) on eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, impulse control disorder, and addiction to investigate the possibility of a wider phenotype that can be related to a common brain network. The literature localizes this network to the right frontal lobe and its connectivities. This network, when dysfunctional, might result in a behavior that favors the preoccupation with particular thoughts, behaviors, anxieties, and uncontrollable urges that are accompanied by little scope for ongoing behavioral adjustments (e.g., impulse control). We reason that this network may turn out to be equally involved in understudied mental conditions of dysfunctional body processing such as muscle dysmorphia, body dysmorphic disorder (including esthetic surgery), and xelomelia. We finally consider previous notions of a wider phenotype approach to current diagnostic practice (using DSM), such as the possibility of a model with a reduced number of diagnostic categories and primary and secondary factors, and to etiological models of mental health conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christine Mohr
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sabrina Messina
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
94
|
Kaliuzhna M, Vibert D, Grivaz P, Blanke O. Out-of-Body Experiences and Other Complex Dissociation Experiences in a Patient with Unilateral Peripheral Vestibular Damage and Deficient Multisensory Integration. Multisens Res 2015; 28:613-35. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are illusory perceptions of one’s body from an elevated disembodied perspective. Recent theories postulate a double disintegration process in the personal (visual, proprioceptive and tactile disintegration) and extrapersonal (visual and vestibular disintegration) space as the basis of OBEs. Here we describe a case which corroborates and extends this hypothesis. The patient suffered from peripheral vestibular damage and presented with OBEs and lucid dreams. Analysis of the patient’s behaviour revealed a failure of visuo-vestibular integration and abnormal sensitivity to visuo-tactile conflicts that have previously been shown to experimentally induce out-of-body illusions (in healthy subjects). In light of these experimental findings and the patient’s symptomatology we extend an earlier model of the role of vestibular signals in OBEs. Our results advocate the involvement of subcortical bodily mechanisms in the occurrence of OBEs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dominique Vibert
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital (Inselspital) of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Petr Grivaz
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
95
|
Abstract
According to the objectification theory ( Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997 ) girls and women are thought to adopt a self-objectified view of themselves as objects to be evaluated on the basis of their appearance. More, this experience is proposed to have a direct link with the health and well being of female subjects. The paper analyzes and discusses the objectification theory within the context of recent research on memory and spatial cognition. On one side, it describes self-objectification as a specific cognitive process: a woman internalizes an objectified self image, when she uses an allocentric frame of reference (observer mode) to remember events in which she evaluates herself based upon bodily appearance. On the other side it directly connects the objectification theory with the Allocentric Lock Hypothesis ( Riva, 2012 ), suggesting that eating disorders have as antecedent an allocentric (objective, from outside) negative image schema of the body that is no more updated by egocentric sensory inputs from perception. Both the similarities between the allocentric lock and the out-of-body experience and a review of the recent studies supporting this claim are also presented and discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Riva
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy
| | - Santino Gaudio
- Diagnostic Imaging, Center for Integrated Research (CIR), Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
96
|
Macauda G, Bertolini G, Palla A, Straumann D, Brugger P, Lenggenhager B. Binding body and self in visuo-vestibular conflicts. Eur J Neurosci 2014; 41:810-7. [PMID: 25557766 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Revised: 11/21/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Maintenance of the bodily self relies on the accurate integration of multisensory inputs in which visuo-vestibular cue integration is thought to play an essential role. Here, we tested in healthy volunteers how conflicting visuo-vestibular bodily input might impact on body self-coherence in a full body illusion set-up. Natural passive vestibular stimulation was provided on a motion platform, while visual input was manipulated using virtual reality equipment. Explicit (questionnaire) and implicit (skin temperature) measures were employed to assess illusory self-identification with either a mannequin or a control object. Questionnaire results pointed to a relatively small illusion, but hand skin temperature, plausibly an index of illusory body ownership, showed the predicted drop specifically in the condition when participants saw the mannequin moving in congruence with them. We argue that this implicit measure was accessible to visuo-vestibular modulation of the sense of self, possibly mediated by shared neural processes in the insula involved in vestibular and interoceptive signalling, thermoregulation and multisensory integration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Macauda
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 26, Zurich, CH-8091, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
97
|
Orientation and disorientation: lessons from patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2014; 41:149-57. [PMID: 25461208 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.09.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 09/04/2014] [Accepted: 09/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Orientation in time, space, and person is a fundamental cognitive faculty and the bedrock of neurological and psychiatric mental status examination. Nevertheless, research in orientation and disorientation is neglected in both cognitive science and neuropsychiatry. Specifically, it is still unclear whether disorientations in time, space, and person represent a failure of the same system or merely share a common nomenclature and whether these three domains of orientation depend on different psychological and neural systems. Here, we analyzed descriptions of patients with specific orientation failures associated with circumscribed cortical lesions, with a primary focus on epilepsy. The form of disorientation is analyzed according to its specific domain, the underlying neuropsychiatric disorder, and its anatomical correlate. Disorientations in the different domains are classified as self-referenced (incorrect self-localization) or nonself-referenced (incorrect localization or knowledge of other places, events, and people). Analysis of the cognitive and neural systems disturbed in these patients suggests that disorientation in one or several domains may be related to a failure in a specific brain mechanism localized mostly in the right hemisphere, partially overlapping with the default mode network (mostly the medial and lateral parietal, medial temporal, and lateral prefrontal cortices), which processes essential self-related cognitive faculties such as orientation.
Collapse
|
98
|
|
99
|
Illusory self-motion perception evoked by caloric vestibular stimulation in sitting versus supine body positions. Behav Brain Res 2014; 272:150-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.06.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2014] [Revised: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/24/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
100
|
Fang T, Yan R, Fang F. Spontaneous out-of-body experience in a child with refractory right temporoparietal epilepsy. J Neurosurg Pediatr 2014; 14:396-9. [PMID: 25062304 DOI: 10.3171/2014.6.peds13485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The authors describe the case of a spontaneous out-of-body experience (OBE) in a 15-year-old right-handed boy with intractable epilepsy in whom psychosis had been misdiagnosed. After successful resection of a right temporoparietal focal cortical dysplasia, the OBE and seizures resolved. The authors analyzed the underlying causes of the OBE and discussed the mechanism of the OBE caused by an epileptic lesion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tie Fang
- Beijing Institute of Functional Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University
| | | | | |
Collapse
|