Preliminary evidence for a fronto‐parietal dysfunction in able‐bodied participants with a desire for limb amputation

Blanke, Olaf; Morgenthaler, Florence D.; Brugger, Peter; Overney, Leila S.

doi:10.1348/174866408x318653

Cited by 56 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Ehrsson, Spence, & Passingham, 2004;Ehrsson et al, 2004;Tsakiris, Hesse, Boy, Haggard, & Fink, 2007). As the desire for amputation is more commonly present for lower limbs RUBBER FOOT ILLUSION IN XENOMELIA 5 (Blanke, Morgenthaler, Brugger, & Overney, 2009), the paradigm was adapted to foot stimulation and only individuals with a desire for lower limb amputation were included in this study. Based on above mentioned literature we hypothesized a disrupted multisensory integration and thus an attenuated rubber foot illusion (RFI) specifically for the affected foot, that would be reflected in all classical measurements of the illusion, i.e.…”

Section: Rubber Foot Illusion In Xenomeliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Disturbed body integrity and the “rubber foot illusion”.

2015

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Objective: Xenomelia, that is, the nonacceptance of one's own limb, is an intriguing but little understood condition. We sought to further test the most prominent neuroscientific hypothesis that suggests xenomelia results from a breakdown in multisensory integration for the affected body part. Method: A "rubber foot illusion" paradigm was developed and tested in healthy participants and in individuals with a desire for left foot amputation (xenomelia). Behavioral and physiological responses quantified illusory ownership of a fake foot after synchronous and asynchronous stroking of a visible rubber foot and the subject's own hidden foot. Results: Healthy participants (n = 15) showed a rubber foot illusion similar to the well-known rubber hand illusion. Individuals with xenomelia (n = 9) experienced the rubber foot illusion in a way comparable to healthy controls. The only difference in the individuals with xenomelia was an increase in the vividness of the illusion for the undesired limb. This vividness of the illusion correlated positively with the strength of amputation desire. Conclusion: These findings might reflect the malleable sense of the body in xenomelia and suggest a weakened representation of the affected body part. These findings may support the use of multisensory stimulation in therapeutic settings. Objective: Xenomelia -i.e. the non-acceptance of one's own limb -is an intriguing but littleunderstood condition. This study aimed to further test the most prominent neuroscientific hypothesis that suggests it results from a breakdown in multisensory integration for the affected body part. Method:A "rubber foot illusion" paradigm was developed and tested both in healthy participants as well as in individuals with a desire for left foot amputation (xenomelia). Questionnaire, behavioral and physiological responses quantified illusory ownership of a fake foot after synchronous and asynchronous stroking of a seen rubber foot and the hidden own foot.Results: Healthy participants (n=15) showed a rubber foot illusion similar to the known rubber hand illusion. Furthermore, individuals with xenomelia (n=9) experienced the rubber foot illusion in a comparable way to healthy controls. The only difference was an increased vividness of the illusion for the undesired limb. This vividness of the illusion was further positively correlated to the strength of amputation desire. Conclusions:These findings might reflect the malleable sense of the body in xenomelia and suggest a weakened representation specifically of the affected body part. They might further pave the way for the use of multisensory stimulation in therapeutic settings.Keywords: Body image identity disorder (BIID), multisensory integration, amputation desire, xenomelia, neuropsychiatryXenomelia designates the non-acceptance of one or several limbs by non-psychotic individuals (McGeoch et al., 2011). Usually first noticed in childhood, the failure to integrate the limb into one's bodily self typically gets stronger during puberty and may culminate i...

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Section: Rubber Foot Illusion In Xenomeliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Disturbed body integrity and the “rubber foot illusion”.

2015

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“…A stimulus becomes conscious only when functionally connected to a network of frontal and parietal areas. This network, together with the posterior insula (50), is relevant for the integration of sensory experiences in bodily self-consciousness (51,52). The posterior insula triggers the pain network and the resulting emergence of subjective pain experience (53), possibly because of its involvement in the genesis of our sense of limb ownership and self-awareness (54).…”

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confidence: 99%

Phantom percepts: Tinnitus and pain as persisting aversive memory networks

Ridder¹,

Elgoyhen

Romo

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

537

482

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Phantom perception refers to the conscious awareness of a percept in the absence of an external stimulus. On the basis of basic neuroscience on perception and clinical research in phantom pain and phantom sound, we propose a working model for their origin. Sensory deafferentation results in high-frequency, gamma band, synchronized neuronal activity in the sensory cortex. This activity becomes a conscious percept only if it is connected to larger coactivated "(self-)awareness" and "salience" brain networks. Through the involvement of learning mechanisms, the phantom percept becomes associated to distress, which in turn is reflected by a simultaneously coactivated nonspecific distress network consisting of the anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula, and amygdala. Memory mechanisms play a role in the persistence of the awareness of the phantom percept, as well as in the reinforcement of the associated distress. Thus, different dynamic overlapping brain networks should be considered as targets for the treatment of this disorder.A fundamental concept in psychology and philosophy of the mind is the notion of perception: The act of interpreting and organizing a sensory stimulus to produce a meaningful experience of the world and of oneself. A stimulus produces an effect on the different sensory receptors, inducing sensation. Further processing of this sensory stimulation generates an internal representation of the outer and inner world called a percept. Since the first days of psychology, two challenging questions have existed: How is sensory information encoded and, in particular, how is this represented information transformed into the individual awareness of a conscious percept (1)? Our understanding of sensory encoding, perception, and consciousness is challenged with a further degree of complexity in the case of phantom perception, the conscious awareness of a percept in the absence of an external stimulus. Deciphering the underlying neural correlates of phantom perception is a scientific endeavor that will aid in understanding the active processes of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information, which ultimately lead to the formation of a conscious percept within the brain.Although some cases of phantom percepts have been described for the visual, olfactory, and gustatory systems, the vast majority of sensory phantoms are those present in the somatosensory (phantom limb perception/phantom limb pain and neuropathic pain) (2) and auditory (tinnitus) (3) modalities. Upfront we are challenged with the following questions: In the absence of an external sensory stimulus, where and how in the brain is the conscious percept generated? In addition, are the neural substrates underlying the generation of a conscious phantom percept similar for the auditory and somatosensory modalities? If so, can we advance in our understanding and treatment of tinnitus on the basis of what is known for phantom limb and phantom pain perception and vice versa? Here, we address these questions and propose a working model of how pha...

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“…The opposite pattern can be seen in people with a puzzling strong desire to have a healthy limb amputated, which they feel does not belong to them ("body integrity identity disorder"). Hilti and Brugger present evidence that there is altered multisensory integration for the aVected limb in this population (Blanke et al 2009), manifesting as a lack of 'animation'.…”

Section: Divering Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 94%

Introduction to special issue on body representation: feeling, seeing, moving and observing

Poliakoff

2010

Exp Brain Res

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Preliminary evidence for a fronto‐parietal dysfunction in able‐bodied participants with a desire for limb amputation

Cited by 56 publications

References 29 publications

Disturbed body integrity and the “rubber foot illusion”.

Disturbed body integrity and the “rubber foot illusion”.

Phantom percepts: Tinnitus and pain as persisting aversive memory networks

Introduction to special issue on body representation: feeling, seeing, moving and observing

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