What is the body schema?

Abstract

The body schema is commonly defined as the representation of a body for action. But what do we mean exactly by that? What makes the body schema so special? The type of information that it represents? The way this information is represented? Or the function of the representation? And is there more than one type of body schema? There is a sense indeed in which the term ‘body schema’ is ambiguous, in that it functions as a general term that groups together various body representations intervening at different stages in motor control, representing short- or long-term properties, used for positive or negative affordances. In addition, one might want to distinguish between local body schemata, which represent body parts, and a global body schema, which represents the body as a whole. But is this latter holistic representation really necessary? Here this chapter will present a detailed characterization of the manifold of representational processes involved in what we commonly refer to as the body schema, as well as the key mechanisms that contribute to their construal.

On the roles of false belief and recalcitrant fear in anorexia nervosa

“…3 For example, when completing tasks such as passing through apertures, compared to controls, individuals with AN rotate their shoulders for relatively larger door widths, suggesting that their body schemas present their body size as larger than their actual size (Beckmann et al, 2021;Keizer et 3 The body schema builds on proprioceptive information from the muscles, joints, and skin and comprises sensorimotor representations of the body. It is functionally separable from the body image (e.g., during the rubber hand illusion) and is involved in posture and movement (de Vignemont et al, 2021(de Vignemont et al, ). al., 2013Metral et al, 2014).…”

“…The body schema builds on proprioceptive information from the muscles, joints, and skin and comprises sensorimotor representations of the body. It is functionally separable from the body image (e.g., during the rubber hand illusion) and is involved in posture and movement(de Vignemont et al, 2021).4 Indeed, in more recent work,Gadsby (2022a) argues that beliefs formed on the basis of proprioceptive misperceptions of bodily boundaries could, in some cases, render false beliefs about body size rational. It is unclear, however, to what extent Gadsby takes this point to address the explanatory issue at hand.…”

Phenomenal transparency, cognitive extension, and predictive processing

“…The body schema is as a suite of multimodal, action-oriented representations automatically subserving an agent's sensorimotor engagements with the world, e.g. by automatically changing the posture of our fingers when we grasp (Cardinali, et al 2009b;de Vignemont et al 2021). The neural basis of the body schema is highly plastic: even few minutes of repeated tool use are enough to modify it, allowing the tool to be included in the body schema, and to be used as if it were a part of our own body (Maravita and Iriki 2004;Martel et al 2016;Romagno and Maravita 2021 for reviews).…”

Virtual embodiment in fibromyalgia

“…Brun et al 12 demonstrated a positive correlation between pain intensity and conflict-induced sensorimotor disturbances, with patients with FM and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) being more prone to report disturbances than patients with arthritis and healthy participants. Patients with FM often present with an unstable body schema (the representation of a body for action planning and control) 13 , negative attitudes toward their bodies, and increased vigilance to their bodily signals 14 . Altogether, the body-pain relationship in patients with FM is complicated and can be described as a paradox: [T]he intensification of fibromyalgia pain does in fact affect different aspects of body awareness: in particular, experienced body size, weight, and localization, as well as the experience of owning one’s own body.…”