Thermal Homeostatic Efficiency and Body Ownership Disturbances: Evidence from a Cold Exposure Test

Body ownership refers to the feeling that one’s body and body parts belong to oneself. Previous studies in healthy and clinical populations have shown that alterations in body ownership are accompanied by changes in skin temperature, suggesting a relationship between these processes. However, it remains unclear whether temperature changes are merely physiological consequences of body ownership recalibration or whether thermosensory and homeostatic signals actively contribute to maintaining bodily self-experience. To address this question, the present study examined whether individual differences in thermal homeostatic efficiency are associated with persistent, trait-level disturbances of body ownership. Thirty-six healthy men completed a cold exposure test, during which both hands and wrists were immersed in 10°C water for 180 seconds. Hand skin temperature was recorded using infrared thermography at baseline, immediately after cold exposure, and after 15 and 30 minutes of recovery. Based on post-cold temperature recovery, participants were classified as faster or slower rewarmers. The study tested whether slower thermal recovery, reflecting lower homeostatic thermal efficiency, was associated with varying levels of body ownership disturbances, assessed through a depersonalization scale. Specifically, body part disownership and whole-body disownership, including out-of-body experiences, were examined. Results showed that only slower rewarmers, characterized by a prolonged hand and finger temperature recovery compared to faster rewarmers, reported body part and whole-body disownership, whereas no such disturbances were reported by faster rewarmers. Importantly, general depersonalization was not significantly predicted by rewarming group. These findings suggest that reduced thermal recovery is specifically linked to body ownership disturbances and support the idea that thermosensory signals are integral to the embodied self. Keywords: body ownership, skin temperature, thermosensory signals, thermal recovery, cold exposure test, infrared thermography, out-of-body experiences, body-part disownership