Synchronous stimulation with light and heat induces body ownership and reduces pain perception

The rubber hand illusion (RHI), first reported by Botvinick& Cohen,4 is a common method to induce transient changes in body representations: Watching a rubber hand being stroked with a brush while the own unseen hand is stroked in synchrony with the rubber hand induces the feeling that the rubber hand belongs to one's own body. Recently it has been demonstrated that the RHI works best with body parts, but that in principle it is also possible to induce ownership of other types of objects. For example, Ma and Hommel22 showed that a virtual balloon changing in size, and a virtual square changing in size and color, in synchrony with movements of their real hand evoked the feeling of ownership for the objects.

Source: The Journal of Pain - November 5, 2019 Category: Materials Science Authors: Larissa Cordier, Xaver Fuchs, Stephan Herpertz, J örg Trojan, Martin Diers Tags: Original Reports Source Type: research