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Cited by 489Virtual Reality Applications and ImpactsMultisensory perception and integrationTactile and Sensory Interactions

The rubber hand illusion: Sensitivity and reference frame for body ownership.

Costantini, Marcello, Haggard, Patrick·2007·Consciousness and Cognition
DOI 10.1016/j.concog.2007.01.001
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Abstract

When subjects view stimulation of a rubber hand while feeling congruent stimulation of their own hand, they may come to feel that the rubber hand is part of their own body. This illusion of body ownership is termed 'Rubber Hand Illusion' (RHI). We investigated sensitivity of RHI to spatial mismatches between visual and somatic experience. We compared the effects of spatial mismatch between the stimulation of the two hands, and equivalent mismatches between the postures of the two hands. We created the mismatch either by adjusting stimulation or posture of the subject's hand, or, in a separate group of subjects, by adjusting stimulation or posture of the rubber hand. The matching processes underlying body ownership were asymmetrical. The illusion survived small changes in the subject's hand posture, but disappeared when the same posture transformations were applied to the rubber hand. Mismatch between the stimulation delivered to the subject's hand and the rubber hand abolished the illusion. The combination of these two situations is of particular interest. When the subject's hand posture was slightly different from the rubber hand posture, the RHI remained as long as stimulation of the two hands was congruent in a hand-centred spatial reference frame, even though the altered posture of the subject's hand meant that stimulation was incongruent in external space. Conversely, the RHI was reduced when the stimulation was incongruent in hand-centred space but congruent in external space. We conclude that the visual-tactile correlation that causes the RHI is computed within a hand-centred frame of reference, which is updated with changes in body posture. Current sensory evidence about what is 'me' is interpreted with respect to a prior mental body representation.

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  • Temporal and spatial patterns of visual and somatosensory signals play an important role in how we come to experience that a limb is part of our own body.

    “This suggests that the temporal and spatial patterns of visual and somatosensory signals play an important role in how we come to experience that a limb is part of our own body [5], [7], [18], [19].”

    From If I were you: Perceptual illusion of body swapping (2008) · cites this paper as [18]

  • The reason for this probably relates to the fact that central processing of multisensory signals from the body operates in egocentric reference frames which presupposes the first person perspective.

    “The reason for this probably relates to the fact that central processing of multisensory signals from the body operates in egocentric reference frames [18], [30], [32], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43] which presupposes the first person perspective.”

    From If I were you: Perceptual illusion of body swapping (2008) · cites this paper as [18]

  • Induction of ownership illusions generally requires multisensory stimulation with the same spatiotemporal pattern on the real and fake body part.

    “Generally the induction of ownership illusions requires multisensory stimulation with the same spatiotemporal pattern on the real and fake body part [7], [14].”

    From Extending body space in immersive virtual reality: a very long arm illusion (2012) · cites this paper as [14]

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Authors
Costantini, M., & Haggard, P.
Affiliations
  • University of Chieti-Pescara (IT)
  • University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Costantini, Marcello
ORCID
Venue
Consciousness and Cognition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2007-06
Volume
16
Issue
2
Pages
229-240
ISSN
1053-8100 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.concog.2007.01.001
OpenAlex
W1972961786
Semantic Scholar
3c725335fe6d65f0c68391d1f50e92a175d15e86
Cited by
489
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 21
FWCI
29.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Consciousness and Cognition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
Keywords
rubber hand illusion, body ownership, body schema, spatial mismatch, posture, multisensory integration, self-representation, body image
MeSH terms
Adult, Body Image, Discrimination, Psychological, Ego, Female, Hand, Humans, Illusions, Male, Models, Psychological, Posture, Proprioception, Space Perception, Touch

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