Age-related changes in the sense of body ownership: New insights from the rubber hand illusion

PLoS One. 2018 Nov 15;13(11):e0207528. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207528. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

How do age-related changes affect the sense of body ownership? This study tackles this issue by means of the rubber hand illusion (RHI), a widely used experimental tool for investigating the sense of body ownership. There is ample literature on the RHI in young populations, but research on age-related changes in the RHI is still scarce. Here we extend the use of the RHI to examine the changes in the sense of body ownership related to healthy aging. Subjective reports (i.e., questionnaire) and proprioceptive drift were compared among young (n = 22, age range 20-22 years), middle-aged (n = 22, age range 44-55 years), and older adults (n = 22, age range 60-72 years). A stronger subjective experience of illusion was observed in the young and older adults as compared to the middle-aged. No differences in proprioceptive drift were found between the three groups. These findings are discussed in relation to: 1) different stages of development of perceptual and cognitive components of the sense of body ownership, and 2) compensatory mechanisms.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Hand / physiology*
  • Human Body
  • Humans
  • Illusions
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Ownership
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Touch Perception / physiology*
  • Visual Perception / physiology*

Grants and funding

MF received grant support from the Italian National Ministry of Health (GR-2011-02350519). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.