Functional and neural mechanisms of embodiment: importance of the vestibular system and the temporal parietal junction.
Reviews in the Neurosciences January 1, 2006 B Lenggenhager, S T Smith, O Blanke
The sense of being located inside one's own body—embodiment—depends on distinct brain mechanisms. A review of clinical and neuroimaging studies on multisensory perception, integration, and mental imagery highlights the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) as a key region for coding embodiment. Vestibular mechanisms are especially relevant, and experimental methods that disrupt normal embodiment point to the TPJ's role. The authors conclude that multisensory and vestibular coding at the TPJ enables the experience of being embodied and spatially situated. Pathologies involving a disembodied self, such as out-of-body experiences, likely result from deficient multisensory integration at the TPJ.