Motor simulation and the bodily self

Previous studies demonstrated the human ability to implicitly recognize their own body. When submitted to a visual matching task, participants showed the so-called self-advantage, that is, a better performance with self rather than others' body or body parts. Here, we investigated whether the b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2011-03, Vol.6 (3), p.e17927-e17927
Main Authors: Ferri, Francesca, Frassinetti, Francesca, Costantini, Marcello, Gallese, Vittorio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Asymmetry
Biology
Body Image
Body parts
Experiments
Female
Hand - physiology
Handedness
Human performance
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Activity - physiology
Neurophysiology
Neurosciences
Physical Stimulation
Recognition
Self Concept
Self-recognition
Simulation
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Studies
Topography
Visual tasks
Young Adult
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Summary:Previous studies demonstrated the human ability to implicitly recognize their own body. When submitted to a visual matching task, participants showed the so-called self-advantage, that is, a better performance with self rather than others' body or body parts. Here, we investigated whether the body self-advantage relies upon a motor representation of one's body. Participants were submitted to a laterality judgment of self and others' hands (Experiment 1 and 3), which involves a sensory-motor mental simulation. Moreover, to investigate whether the self-advantage emerges also when an explicit self processing is required, the same participants were submitted to an explicit self-body recognition task (Experiment 2). Participants showed the self-advantage when performing the laterality judgment, but not when self-recognition was explicitly required. Thus, implicit and explicit recognition of the bodily self dissociate and only an implicit recognition of the bodily self, mapped in motor terms, allows the self-advantage to emerge.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0017927