The vestibular system is fundamental in maintaining balance and spatial orientation of the body by integrating proprioceptive, visual, and interoceptive sensory information. This study analyzes cold water caloric vestibular stimulation's (CVS) impacts on self-perception factors, such as proprioceptive drift, thermal sense, and body ownership, targeting the cognitive and physiological processes that drive self-representation changes which are caused by the vestibular system. By means of the mirror box paradigm and interoceptive accuracy tasks, the study examines the effect of CVS on multisensory body representation and body schema. The findings show the drastic effect of CVS on enhancing proprioceptive drift, which is further amplified with synchronous tactile stimulation than with asynchronous tapping (p < 0.001). Also, after CVS, there were changes in asymmetric skin temperature, where most subjects reported the non-viewing hand was warmer than the covered hand while miss-heating non-visible hand thermal perception (p < 0.005). Negative association at higher levels of interoceptive accuracy with these conditions, that is, drift and self-illusion of body ownership, R = -0.52, p < 0.01 have been found, reinforcing the hypothesis that interoceptive awareness reinforces the self against body-vestibular conflicts. Furthermore, greater self-location distortions, in tandem with greater reported dissociation and dizziness post CVS were reported by participants, r = 0.68, p < 0.01, pointing at a interplay between vestibular and autonomic systems in self-awareness. The data has broad implications for rehabilitation of various neuro-psychological conditions (for example: somatoparaphrenia, phantom limb syndrome, depersonalization disorder) and hints at predictive coding, embodied cognition, and vestibular-autonomic integration theories, alongside the usage of immersive technologies including VR and AR. Further investigations on the long-term effects of vestibular adaptations on clinical interventions and techniques for sensorimotor recalibration should be examined.
The vestibular system is fundamental in maintaining balance and spatial orientation of the body by integrating proprioceptive, visual, and interoceptive sensory information. This study analyzes cold water caloric vestibular stimulation's (CVS) impacts on self-perception factors, such as proprioceptive drift, thermal sense, and body ownership, targeting the cognitive and physiological processes that drive self-representation changes which are caused by the vestibular system. By means of the mirror box paradigm and interoceptive accuracy tasks, the study examines the effect of CVS on multisensory body representation and body schema. The findings show the drastic effect of CVS on enhancing proprioceptive drift, which is further amplified with synchronous tactile stimulation than with asynchronous tapping (p < 0.001). Also, after CVS, there were changes in asymmetric skin temperature, where most subjects reported the non-viewing hand was warmer than the covered hand while miss-heating non-visible hand thermal perception (p < 0.005). Negative association at higher levels of interoceptive accuracy with these conditions, that is, drift and self-illusion of body ownership, R = -0.52, p < 0.01 have been found, reinforcing the hypothesis that interoceptive awareness reinforces the self against body-vestibular conflicts. Furthermore, greater self-location distortions, in tandem with greater reported dissociation and dizziness post CVS were reported by participants, r = 0.68, p < 0.01, pointing at a interplay between vestibular and autonomic systems in self-awareness. The data has broad implications for rehabilitation of various neuro-psychological conditions (for example: somatoparaphrenia, phantom limb syndrome, depersonalization disorder) and hints at predictive coding, embodied cognition, and vestibular-autonomic integration theories, alongside the usage of immersive technologies including VR and AR. Further investigations on the long-term effects of vestibular adaptations on clinical interventions and techniques for sensorimotor recalibration should be examined.
Vestibular Stimulation and Multisensory Integration: Exploring Proprioceptive Drift, Interoception, and Body Ownership Through Cold-Water Caloric Vestibular Stimulation
JAIN, MEHAK
2023/2024
Abstract
The vestibular system is fundamental in maintaining balance and spatial orientation of the body by integrating proprioceptive, visual, and interoceptive sensory information. This study analyzes cold water caloric vestibular stimulation's (CVS) impacts on self-perception factors, such as proprioceptive drift, thermal sense, and body ownership, targeting the cognitive and physiological processes that drive self-representation changes which are caused by the vestibular system. By means of the mirror box paradigm and interoceptive accuracy tasks, the study examines the effect of CVS on multisensory body representation and body schema. The findings show the drastic effect of CVS on enhancing proprioceptive drift, which is further amplified with synchronous tactile stimulation than with asynchronous tapping (p < 0.001). Also, after CVS, there were changes in asymmetric skin temperature, where most subjects reported the non-viewing hand was warmer than the covered hand while miss-heating non-visible hand thermal perception (p < 0.005). Negative association at higher levels of interoceptive accuracy with these conditions, that is, drift and self-illusion of body ownership, R = -0.52, p < 0.01 have been found, reinforcing the hypothesis that interoceptive awareness reinforces the self against body-vestibular conflicts. Furthermore, greater self-location distortions, in tandem with greater reported dissociation and dizziness post CVS were reported by participants, r = 0.68, p < 0.01, pointing at a interplay between vestibular and autonomic systems in self-awareness. The data has broad implications for rehabilitation of various neuro-psychological conditions (for example: somatoparaphrenia, phantom limb syndrome, depersonalization disorder) and hints at predictive coding, embodied cognition, and vestibular-autonomic integration theories, alongside the usage of immersive technologies including VR and AR. Further investigations on the long-term effects of vestibular adaptations on clinical interventions and techniques for sensorimotor recalibration should be examined.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/27991