Interoception, alexithymia, and motor congruency: Psychological drivers of body ownership in virtual reality.
Sarune Savickaite, Mitra Gupta, Dharshini Kannan
Perception May 13, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/03010066261447828 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 26 |
| Population | Adult participants in an immersive virtual reality experiment |
| Keywords | 3d perception Alexithymia Embodied cognition Individual differences Interoception Multisensory perception Virtual reality |
| Key findings | Alexithymia was negatively related to interoceptive accuracy, and motor synchrony positively influenced body ownership, with interoceptive accuracy showing a trend-level positive association with body ownership during aligned movements. |
Abstract
Alexithymia, a personality trait marked by difficulty in identifying and describing emotions, is associated with differences in interoception - the ability to perceive and interpret internal bodily signals. Interoception plays a key role in forming a coherent sense of self and contributes to body ownership, the feeling that one's body belongs to oneself. This study explored how interoception and alexithymia influence body ownership in immersive virtual reality, particularly under conditions of motor cue congruency. Findings revealed a negative relationship between alexithymia and interoception, and a positive effect of motor synchrony on body ownership. Interoceptive accuracy (assessed via the heartbeat counting task) showed a trend-level positive association with body ownership when virtual and physical movements were aligned. Given the modest sample size (N = 26) and reliance on a single cardiac interoceptive measure, findings should be considered preliminary and warrant replication in larger, multi-method studies.