Experiences such as sensing a presence, feeling as if insects were crawling under the skin and related phenomena have been described in psychiatric, neurological, and toxicological contexts. However, they also occur frequently in the general population. Previous research suggests that stable physiological traits may predispose individuals to complex bodily hallucinations. The present...
Complex bodily hallucinations are not rare in psychiatric, neurological and toxicological conditions and may also be reported even in the total absence of any medical condition. Despite this, they are usually not clinically assessed independently from (and in comparison to) hallucinations in other modalities. The objective of this study was to develop a short scale assessing complex bodily...
Sensations and thoughts have been described as potentially related to self-awareness. We therefore asked whether sensations that arise in the absence of external triggers, i.e., spontaneous sensations (SPS), which were shown to relate to interoception and perception of the self, vary as a function of the individual propensity to generate spontaneous thoughts, i.e., mind-wandering. The Mind...
Somatic sensations may arise in the total absence of external stimuli, i.e., spontaneous sensations (SPSs). Because the background of body sensations has been mentioned as a possible contributor to interoceptive functions, such as the perception of the self and the conscious awareness of one's own body, a possible link between SPSs and interoception has been advocated. Yet, no study has...