Frontiers in neurology
January 1, 2019
Carla Thür, Marte Roel Lesur, Christopher J Bockisch et al.
12 citations
The sense of having a body depends on integrating multiple senses and prior beliefs, but the role of the vestibular system—which detects gravity—is not well understood. In an experiment, participants viewed a virtual body in front of them through a head-mounted display while receiving tactile stimulation on their back either synchronously or asynchronously. Tilting the virtual body created a conflict between visual and gravity-related cues about body orientation. Self-identification with the virtual body decreased when this visuo-graviceptive conflict was present.
Consciousness and cognition
August 1, 2023
Burak Erdeniz, Ege Tekgün, Bigna Lenggenhager et al.
2 citations
Most people experience dreams from a first-person perspective (82%) rather than a third-person perspective (18%). Regardless of perspective, dreamers typically perceive other dream characters within close peripersonal space—either 0–90 cm or 90–180 cm—rather than farther away (180–270 cm). Dream characters are most often seen from eye level (0° viewing angle) rather than above or below. The intensity of bodily self-consciousness in dreams is higher among those who habitually see other characters closer to their dream self. These findings provide a phenomenological account of spatial representation and felt presence of others in dreams, suggesting that peripersonal space coding and self-other distinction operate similarly in dreaming and waking states.
Brain research
June 19, 2025
Zoé Dary, Paul Kobliska, Jacques Léonard et al.
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.