Surreal illustration of body ownership illusion

Unlock Your Mind: How Body Ownership Illusions Reveal the Secrets of Self

Soraya Malik in Mind & Education August 2025 • 4 min read.

"Delve into the groundbreaking research exploring how our brains construct the feeling of "self" through body ownership illusions and what this means for understanding consciousness."

The sense of self is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of human consciousness. We experience the world as individuals, with bodies that are undeniably our own. But what happens when that sense of ownership is challenged? What if you could feel like a rubber hand was actually a part of you?

Scientists have been exploring these questions using body ownership illusions, most notably the rubber hand illusion (RHI). This fascinating phenomenon occurs when a person watches a rubber hand being stroked while simultaneously feeling a similar sensation on their own hidden hand. The result? Many people begin to feel as if the rubber hand is, in fact, their own.

Now, groundbreaking new research is taking this exploration even further. By using advanced techniques to monitor brain activity during the rubber hand illusion, scientists are beginning to unravel the precise neural mechanisms that create the feeling of body ownership. This isn't just a parlor trick; it's a window into the very essence of how we perceive ourselves.

Body Ownership: How the Brain Decides What's 'Mine'

Surreal illustration of body ownership illusion

The feeling of body ownership isn't something we're necessarily born with; it's a construct of the brain, constantly updated and refined through sensory input. Vision, touch, and proprioception (the sense of where our body parts are in space) all work together to create a cohesive representation of our physical form. When these senses align, our brain reinforces the feeling that our body is our own. The rubber hand illusion works because it manipulates this alignment.

Consider this thought experiment: Close your eyes and imagine touching your nose. You can accurately imagine the sensation, location, and movement. Now, imagine it not being your own! This is a breakdown of our perception of self. The rubber hand illusion cleverly exploits this process. By creating a conflict between what we see (the rubber hand being stroked) and what we feel (the stroking on our real hand), the brain attempts to resolve the discrepancy. In some cases, it does so by temporarily incorporating the rubber hand into our body image.

Visual Capture: Vision dominates our perception. What we see strongly influences what we feel.
Temporal Contiguity: The sensations must occur close together in time. Synchronized stroking is key.
Spatial Congruence: The rubber hand must be positioned in a realistic location relative to our own body.

This study, published in Cerebral Cortex, used electrocorticography (ECOG) to directly measure brain activity in patients undergoing epilepsy monitoring. This allowed researchers to pinpoint the specific areas of the brain involved in the rubber hand illusion with unprecedented precision. The study revealed that increased activity in the premotor and intraparietal cortices was strongly associated with the feeling of ownership. These areas are known to be involved in integrating sensory information and creating a sense of body awareness.

The Implications: Beyond the Illusion

The research has implications far beyond simply understanding a curious illusion. By identifying the neural mechanisms underlying body ownership, scientists are gaining insights into a range of conditions, including body dysmorphic disorder, phantom limb pain, and even schizophrenia. Understanding how the brain constructs the sense of self could lead to new therapies and interventions for these challenging conditions. It also deepens our understanding of consciousness itself—how our brains create the feeling of being "us."

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1093/cercor/bhy285, Alternate LINK

Title: Direct Electrophysiological Correlates Of Body Ownership In Human Cerebral Cortex

Subject: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Journal: Cerebral Cortex

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

Authors: Arvid Guterstam, Kelly L Collins, Jeneva A Cronin, Hugo Zeberg, Felix Darvas, Kurt E Weaver, Jeffrey G Ojemann, H Henrik Ehrsson

Published: 2018-11-14

Everything You Need To Know

What is the rubber hand illusion, and how does it trick the brain into thinking a fake hand is real?

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a fascinating phenomenon where a person perceives a rubber hand as part of their own body. This happens when they watch a rubber hand being stroked while simultaneously feeling a similar sensation on their own hidden hand. The brain integrates the visual and tactile information, leading to a temporary illusion of ownership. Factors like Visual Capture, Temporal Contiguity, and Spatial Congruence play critical roles in making this illusion work. However, RHI primarily focuses on limb ownership and doesn't fully explain the broader sense of self, including thoughts, memories, and emotions.

Which specific brain areas are most active during the rubber hand illusion, and how were they identified?

Research using electrocorticography (ECOG) has identified that increased activity in the premotor and intraparietal cortices is strongly associated with the feeling of ownership during the rubber hand illusion. These brain areas are responsible for integrating sensory information and creating a sense of body awareness. However, the study doesn't cover the roles of other brain regions such as the somatosensory cortex or the visual cortex, which are also involved in processing touch and vision, respectively. Future research could explore the interactions between these different brain areas during body ownership illusions.

How does the brain construct the feeling of body ownership, and what role do senses like vision, touch, and proprioception play?

The feeling of body ownership is a construct of the brain, constantly updated and refined through sensory input. Vision, touch, and proprioception work together to create a cohesive representation of our physical form. When these senses align, our brain reinforces the feeling that our body is our own. The rubber hand illusion works by manipulating this alignment and creating a conflict between what we see and what we feel. While the concept of body ownership explains our perception of our physical selves, it does not address the subjective experience of consciousness, which includes thoughts, emotions, and self-awareness.

What are the potential implications of body ownership research for understanding and treating conditions like body dysmorphic disorder or schizophrenia?

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying body ownership, particularly through studies involving the rubber hand illusion, can provide insights into conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, phantom limb pain, and even schizophrenia. By identifying how the brain constructs the sense of self, scientists hope to develop new therapies and interventions for these conditions. While body ownership illusions provide a valuable model for studying these conditions, it's important to note that these conditions are complex and multifactorial. Future research should consider genetic, environmental, and psychological factors that contribute to these disorders.

What are 'visual capture,' 'temporal contiguity,' and 'spatial congruence,' and how do these principles contribute to the rubber hand illusion?

Visual capture refers to the dominance of vision in our perception, where what we see strongly influences what we feel. Temporal contiguity means that sensations must occur close together in time for the illusion to work. Synchronized stroking of the real and rubber hands is key. Spatial congruence requires that the rubber hand must be positioned in a realistic location relative to our own body. Though these principles explain how the brain integrates multisensory information to create body ownership, they do not account for individual differences in susceptibility to body ownership illusions, or how prior experiences and expectations may influence the illusion.