New reflections on agency and body ownership: The moving rubber hand illusion in the mirror

Conscious Cogn. 2015 May:33:432-42. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.02.020. Epub 2015 Mar 17.

Abstract

No previous study has simultaneously examined body ownership and agency in healthy subjects during mirror self-observation. We used a moving rubber hand illusion to examine how both body ownership and agency are affected by seeing (i) the body moving in a mirror, compared with (ii) directly viewing the moving hand, and (iii) seeing a visually identical hand rotated by 180°. We elicited ownership of the hand using direct visual feedback, finding this effect was further enhanced when looking at the hand in a mirror, whereas rotating the hand 180° abolished ownership. Agency was similarly elicited using direct visual feedback, and equally so in the mirror, but again reduced for the 180° hand. We conclude that the reflected body in a mirror is treated as 'special' in the mind, and distinct from other external objects. This enables bodies and actions viewed in a mirror to be directly related to the self.

Keywords: Agency; Embodiment; Mirror; Ownership; Rubber hand illusion; Self.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Body Image*
  • Female
  • Hand*
  • Humans
  • Illusions / physiology*
  • Male
  • Proprioception / physiology*
  • Visual Perception / physiology*
  • Young Adult