Bodily self‐disturbance in schizophrenia‐spectrum populations: Introducing the Benson et al. Body Disturbances Inventory (B‐BODI)

Abstract

Anomalous or weakened sense of self was central to early theories of schizophrenia. Recent studies have also documented disturbances in body ownership and increased susceptibility for dissociative experiences, such as the out-of-body experience in individuals with schizophrenia, but further research is necessary to clarify components of bodily self-disturbances in the schizophrenia spectrum, and the stability of these experiences over time. With respect to methodology, self-disturbances research in schizophrenia tends to rely exclusively on verbal self-report questionnaires and interviews. Given that individuals with schizophrenia suffer from language and communication difficulties, verbal self-report measures may be insufficient. To bridge this gap, we have developed a new picture-based instrument, the Benson et al. Body Disturbances Inventory (B-BODI), designed to quantify bodily self-disturbances with respect to the frequency and vividness of these experiences, as well as the degree of distress associated with them. Drawings that depicted different aspects of aberrant bodily self-experiences were presented with accompanying captions. Participants were asked to indicate the frequency, vividness, and distressfulness of the experience captured by the picture using a 5-point scale. Individuals with schizophrenia, older healthy controls, and college students participated in two alternative versions of the B-BODI. Participants were also asked to complete a battery of established questionnaires that probed psychosis proneness and a range of self, body, and perceptual aberrations. The results suggest that the B-BODI is a useful tool that accurately captures bodily self-disturbances and has the potential to predict psychosis risk in healthy young individuals. Furthermore, anomalous self-disturbances seem to be relatively stable across time in individuals with chronic schizophrenia.

Schizotypal traits are not related to multisensory integration or audiovisual speech perception

“…Individuals with higher schizotypy tend to have stronger responses to visual-tactile (rubber-hand and Barbie doll) illusions (Asai et al, 2011;Germine et al, 2013;Van Doorn et al, 2018), which also aligns with findings in schizophrenia (Peled, Ritsner, Hirschmann, Geva, & Modai, 2000;Thakkar, Nichols, Mcintosh, & Park, 2011). These illusions, while requiring intact multisensory integration, also assess traits like susceptibility to out-of-body experiences and altered perception of body ownership, which are higher among individuals in the schizophrenia spectrum (Benson, Brugger, & Park, 2019;Hur, Kwon, Lee, & Park, 2014). This may explain why the intact multisensory integration found in these visual-tactile illusions does not align with the majority of investigations into audiovisual multisensory integration in individuals with schizophrenia, which have found decreased multisensory integration compared to controls (de Jong, Hodiamont, Van den Stock, & de Gelder, 2009;Tseng et al, 2015;Williams, Light, Braff, & Ramachandran, 2010).…”

Schizotypal traits are not related to multisensory integration or audiovisual speech perception

“…Individuals with higher schizotypy tend to have stronger responses to visual-tactile (rubber-hand and Barbie doll) illusions (Asai et al, 2011;Germine et al, 2013;Van Doorn et al, 2018), which also aligns with findings in schizophrenia (Peled, Ritsner, Hirschmann, Geva, & Modai, 2000;Thakkar, Nichols, Mcintosh, & Park, 2011). These illusions, while requiring intact multisensory integration, also assess traits like susceptibility to out-of-body experiences and altered perception of body ownership, which are higher among individuals in the schizophrenia spectrum (Benson, Brugger, & Park, 2019;Hur, Kwon, Lee, & Park, 2014). This may explain why the intact multisensory integration found in these visual-tactile illusions does not align with the majority of investigations into audiovisual multisensory integration in individuals with schizophrenia, which have found decreased multisensory integration compared to controls (de Jong, Hodiamont, Van den Stock, & de Gelder, 2009;Tseng et al, 2015;Williams, Light, Braff, & Ramachandran, 2010).…”

Bodily Self-Disturbances in Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study of South Korea and the USA

“…Individuals with SZ reported more numerous types of abnormal self-experiences than controls (CO). SZ also experienced these self-disturbances more frequently and vividly and felt more distressed than did CO. Last, B-BODI scores were increased in those at risk for SZ [43]. Overall, B-BODI provides a valid and reliable measure toward quantifying self-disturbances.…”

“…To address some of these methodological hurdles, Benson et al [43] incorporated drawings of unusual bodily experiences and verbal descriptions of self-disturbances to implement the B-BODI, which records the frequency and intensity of these experiences and the distress associated with them. Individuals with SZ reported more numerous types of abnormal self-experiences than controls (CO).…”