Body ownership: When feeling and knowing diverge

Romano, Daniele; Sedda, Anna; Brugger, Peter; Bottini, Gabriella

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2015.04.008

Cited by 33 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…It is accepted that the integration of visual, tactile and proprioceptor information across different body parts contributes to the perception of body ownership [1,2,39,40]. Activity in the premotor cortex (PM) has been shown to reflect the feeling of ownership of a limb by cortical integration of this multisensory information [27,38,39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Desire for Amputation or Paralyzation: Evidence for Structural Brain Anomalies in Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)

et al. 2016

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BackgroundBody Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) is a condition in which individuals perceive a mismatch between their internal body scheme and physical body shape, resulting in an absolute desire to be either amputated or paralyzed. The condition is hypothesized to be of congenital nature, but evidence for a neuro-anatomical basis is sparse.MethodsWe collected T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging scans on a 3T scanner in eight individuals with BIID and 24 matched healthy controls, and analyzed the data using voxel-based morphometry.ResultsThe results showed reduced grey matter volume in the left dorsal and ventral premotor cortices and larger grey matter volume in the cerebellum (lobule VIIa) in individuals with BIID compared to controls.ConclusionThe premotor cortex and cerebellum are thought to be crucial for the experience of body-ownership and the integration of multisensory information. Our results suggest that BIID is associated with structural brain anomalies and might result from a dysfunction in the integration of multisensory information, leading to the feeling of disunity between the mental and physical body shape.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Desire for Amputation or Paralyzation: Evidence for Structural Brain Anomalies in Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)

et al. 2016

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“…It has been suggested that while sensory input is normal in BIID (e.g. like the feeling of touch on the leg), it cannot integrate with a higher-order representation of the body to provide a sense of completeness in one's body, leading to discomfort and even disownership (Hänggi et al, 2017;Ramachandran, Brang, McGeoch, & Rosar, 2009;Romano, Sedda, Brugger, & Bottini, 2015). Instead, people with BIID report feeling 'overcomplete' in the body, and that by structurally (through amputation) and/or functionally (through paralysis) modifying the legs would, counterintuitively, provide a feeling of completeness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the limb is not properly inscribed into the body representation (Romano, Sedda, Brugger, & Bottini, 2015), one might wonder whether PPS boundaries around the affected limb are compromised in BIID. At least one piece of evidence speaks to this query.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower limb peripersonal space and the desire to amputate a leg

Stone

Kornblad

Engel

et al. 2020

Psychological Research

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Body integrity identity disorder (BIID) is a rare condition defined by a persistent desire to amputate or paralyze a healthy limb (usually one or both of the legs). This desire arises from experiencing a mismatch between the internal body model and the actual physical/functional boundaries of the body. People with BIID show an abnormal physiological response to stimuli approaching the affected (unwanted) but not the unaffected leg, which might suggest a retracted peripersonal space (PPS: a multisensory integration zone near the body) around the unwanted limb. Thus, using a visuo-tactile interaction task, we examined leg PPS in a group of healthy men and three men with BIID who desired unilateral leg amputation. PPS size (~ 70 cm) around the unwanted BIID legs did not differ from that of healthy controls. Although the leg feels foreign in BIID, it still seems to maintain a PPS, presumably to protect it and facilitate interactions within the surrounding environment.

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“…They showed that tactile stimulation of the latter regions are accompanied by an elevated autonomous response 47,48 and a priorization in the judgment of temporal order. 49 This pattern is indicative of a hyperattention towards incoming stimuli.…”

Section: Proposed Diagnostic Criteria and Differential Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both conditions Romano et al found a reduced anticipation of pain, which was specific to the disowned or non-accepted limb. 48,50 Similarities (and differences) between the two conditions were also shown in an illusion paradigm that requires the integration of vision, touch and proprioception. 51,52 Caloric vestibular stimulation, known to transiently abolish somatoparaphrenic delusions, 53 did not affect the desire for amputation as assessed by a questionnaire.…”

Section: Proposed Diagnostic Criteria and Differential Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Limb amputation and other disability desires as a medical condition

Brugger

Christen

Jellestad

et al. 2016

The Lancet Psychiatry

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Some people have a profound dissatisfaction with what is considered an able-bodied state by most others. These individuals desire to be disabled, by conventional standards. In this Review, we integrate research findings about the desire for a major limb amputation or paralysis (xenomelia). Neuropsychological and neuroimaging explorations of xenomelia show functional and structural abnormalities in predominantly right hemisphere cortical circuits of higher-order bodily representation, including affective and sexual aspects of corporeal awareness. These neural underpinnings of xenomelia do not necessarily imply a neurological cause, and a full understanding of the condition requires consideration of the interface between neural and social contributions to the bodily self and the concept of disability. Irrespective of cause, disability desires are accompanied by a disabling bodily dysphoria, in many respects similar to gender dysphoria, and we suggest that they should be considered a mental disorder. SummaryThere are persons who suffer from a profound dissatisfaction with what is considered an ablebodied state by most others. They desire to be "dis-abled" by conventional standards. We integrate recent research findings on the desire for a major limb amputation or paralysis ("xenomelia"). Neuropsychological and neuroimaging explorations of xenomelia revealed functional and structural abnormalities in predominantly right hemisphere cortical circuits of higher-order bodily representation, including affective and sexual aspects of corporeal awareness. These neural underpinnings of xenomelia do not necessarily imply a neurological etiology, and a full understanding of the condition requires consideration of the interface between neural and social contributions to the bodily self and the concept of (dis)ability. Irrespective of etiology, disability desires are accompanied by a disabling bodily dysphoria, in many respects similar to gender dysphoria, and deserve to be considered a mental disorder.3 IntroductionThis review integrates recent research findings concerning a condition that is not yet recognized as a mental disorder, which is still in search of a generally accepted medical label and whose conceptual basis is still "under construction". The condition involves a person's dissatisfaction with an able-bodied state. It is referred to as "body integrity identity disorder" (BIID) in the psychiatric literature, "xenomelia" in neurologically oriented studies, and "transability" ("transableism") in approaches to disability from a primarily sociological perspective (table 1, appendix and figure 1, appendix, for the terminology). In this review we use the term "disability desires" to remain descriptive and avoid controversial concepts of identity and too narrow notions of focal brain damage. Although deafness, blindness or the status of a eunuch can be the target of disability desires, the focus of our review is on the desire for limb amputation or paraplegia. These forms of profound bodily modification are the...

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Body ownership: When feeling and knowing diverge

Cited by 33 publications

References 48 publications

The Desire for Amputation or Paralyzation: Evidence for Structural Brain Anomalies in Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)

The Desire for Amputation or Paralyzation: Evidence for Structural Brain Anomalies in Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)

Lower limb peripersonal space and the desire to amputate a leg

Limb amputation and other disability desires as a medical condition

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