Full body illusion and cognition: A systematic review of the literature

Role of Immersive Virtual Reality in Motor Behaviour Decision-Making in Chronic Pain Patients

“…In this sense, different studies have shown that there is a bi-directional relationship between body perception and pain perception [ 90 ]. Experimental research has investigated if the manipulation of the characteristics of the avatar’s virtual body may influence the physiological, cognitive, and behavioral responses to threat and pain sensitivity of the subjects [ 68 , 71 , 91 ]. Although the visualization of changes in the morphological features of the virtual body can influence the perception of pain, these changes should be adapted to the specific characteristics of patients with chronic pain [ 92 ].…”

“…Immersive VR might be useful in rehabilitation not only to modulate the perception of pain but also for motor-related functions and body perception disturbances [ 91 ] in healthy and clinical populations [ 48 , 71 ]. For instance, Harvie et al investigated the short-term effects of embodying superhero-like full-body avatars on pain and body image in people with chronic low back pain [ 84 , 93 ], which had a favorable effect on body image.…”

“…According to a review conducted by Pyasik et al [ 91 ], the movements of the embodied virtual avatar significantly affected the participants motor functioning, especially when the movements were performed synchronously and actively by the patient. It has further been proposed that the mirror neuron system may be more active when the observed movements are part of one’s motor repertoire than when the observed movements are not part of one’s motor repertoire [ 74 ].…”

“…Evidence shows that VR may also produce positive effects on the cognitive-affective dimension of pain and may reduce kinesiophobia, pain-related fear, and anxiety [ 136 , 137 ]. The effects of BOIs on higher-level cognitive processes (perception, motor functions, executive functions, personality, and social cognition) have been proposed [ 91 ]. Furthermore, descending influences from higher structures (top-down), such as the cortico-limbic system or hippocampus, should also be considered in pain modulation systems [ 138 ].…”

Behavioral and neurophysiological indices of the racial bias modulation after virtual embodiment in other-race body

“…Crucially, embodiment occurs independently of the appearance of the virtual body, i.e., it is strong even when the avatar’s appearance is drastically different from participant’s own, 8 which makes it a possible tool for influencing the appearance-based stereotypes (such as racism or sexism) and the related biases in a covert way. Indeed, when participants observe the world from the perspective of a differently looking body that they perceive as their own, or control the movements of that body, they do not receive any explicit instructions concerning the body appearance.…”