Where exactly am I? Self-location judgements distribute between head and torso

Alsmith, A. and Longo, Matthew R. (2014) Where exactly am I? Self-location judgements distribute between head and torso. Consciousness and Cognition 24 , pp. 70-74. ISSN 1053-8100.

Abstract

I am clearly located where my body is located. But is there one particular place inside my body where I am? Recent results have provided apparently contradictory findings about this question. Here, we addressed this issue using a more direct approach than has been used in previous studies. Using a simple pointing task, we asked participants to point directly at themselves, either by manual manipulation of the pointer whilst blindfolded or by visually discerning when the pointer was in the correct position. Self-location judgements in haptic and visual modalities were highly similar, and were clearly modulated by the starting location of the pointer. Participants most frequently chose to point to one of two likely regions, the upper face or the upper torso, according to which they reached first. These results suggest that while the experienced self is not spread out homogeneously across the entire body, nor is it localised in any single point. Rather, two distinct regions, the upper face and upper torso, appear to be judged as where “I” am.

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