The vestibular system, which governs balance and spatial orientation, contributes to body and self perception, but its role in the immediate, pre-reflective sense of self (the bodily self) is not well understood. This study used a full-body illusion in virtual reality to examine how bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP), a disorder impairing vestibular function, affects the bodily self. Comparing 34 patients with partial or complete BVP, 34 age-matched healthy controls, and 34 younger controls, the results showed that BVP did not significantly alter the bodily self as measured. However, patients with total vestibular loss exhibited a larger drift in illusory self-location, suggesting otolithic signals are important for this aspect.
Bodily self-consciousness (BSC)—the sense of having a body and being located in it—depends on bodily experiences like self-location, body ownership, agency, and first-person perspective, as well as on multisensory integration. This review summarizes new insights into BSC's neural bases, including the role of interoceptive signals and overlap with general conscious experience and the cognitive self. It identifies challenges and future directions, notably the need for cross-talk between neuroscience subdisciplines, research in animal models to decipher neural networks and neurotransmitter systems, more causal evidence for specific brain areas, and studies of interindividual differences in BSC.