ArticlePDFAvailableAsomatognosia:DisordersofthebodilyselfJanuary2011DOI:10.1017/CBO9781139058988.015Project:BodilyconsciousnessAuthors:SebastianDieguezUniversitédeFribourgJean-MarieAnnoniUniversitédeFribourgDownloadfull-textPDFReadfull-textDownloadfull-textPDFReadfull-textDownloadcitationCopylinkLinkcopiedReadfull-textDownloadcitationCopylinkLinkcopiedCitations(10)References(228)Figures(5)AbstractandFiguresIntroductionStrandedonhisdesertisland,deprivedofnearlyeverything,RobinsonCrusoerealizedhow“weneverseethetruestateofourconditiontillitisillustratedtousbyitscontraries.”Suchistheexperiencewehaveofourbody:itisthroughits“contraries”thatwecometorealizeitscomplexityandunderlyingmechanisms.Followingneurologicaldamage,thebodycanbeentirelyorpartlyforgotten,ignored,denied,disowned,ormisperceived.Patientscanexperiencemislocalizationsofbodyparts,illusorysensationsandmovements,thepresenceofnon-existentbodypartsorconverselythedisappearanceofexistingbodyparts,andimpressionsofsizeandshapetransformations;theycanalsodenytheirphysicaldisabilitiesandevendisavowtheownershipoftheirownbodyparts(Fig.14.1isanoverviewofselecteddisorders).Suchconditionsareofcrucialimportancetounderstandhowthehumanbrainconstructsthebodilyself–theexperienceofhavingandbeingabody[1,2].Theideaofthebodilyselfishistoricallylinkedtootherconceptssuchascorporealawareness,cenesthesia,somatopsyche,bodyschema,andbodyimage,allreferringtohowthebodyisconsciouslyorunconsciouslyexperiencedandrepresented[3–5].Asopposedtoextendedaspectsoftheselfrelatedtoculture,society,politics,orpersonality,thebodilyselfrelatestoanorganism'smostbasicproperties,suchashowwelocalizeourownbodyintheenvironment,perceiveitsongoingpostureandmovements,detectchangesininternalhomeostasis,experienceitsactionstobeself-generated,andidentifyitspartsasself-belonging.Thebodilyselfthusinvolvesthedynamicintegrationofvisual,tactile,proprioceptive,vestibular,auditory,olfactive,visceral,andmotorinformation,aswellashigherorderrepresentationssuchasbeliefs,desiresmem