Distorted own-body representations in patients with dizziness and during caloric vestibular stimulation.
Journal of neurology October 1, 2018 Christophe Lopez, Estelle Nakul, Nora Preuss et al.
Vestibular disorders are linked to distortions in own-body representations beyond known deficits in balance and spatial cognition. A study of 60 patients with dizziness found that 12% experienced distorted body size perceptions (hands or feet feeling larger or smaller), 37% reported abnormal sense of agency, 35% reported disownership for the body, and 22% reported disembodiment, all at higher rates than in healthy controls. A second experiment using caloric vestibular stimulation in healthy volunteers showed that left-warm/right-cold stimulation specifically increased the perceived length of the dorsum of both hands. The findings indicate a vestibular contribution to how the body is represented.