title: "I can't tell whether it's my hand": a pilot study of the neurophenomenology of body representation during the rubber hand illusion in trauma-related disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Early traumatic experiences are thought to be causal factors in the development of trauma-related dissociative experiences, including depersonalization and derealization. The rubber hand illusion (RHI), a well-known paradigm that measures multi-sensorial integration of a rubber hand into one's own body representation, has been used to investigate alterations in the experience of body ownership and of body representation. Critically, however, it has never been studied in individuals with trauma-related disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate body representation distortions occurring in trauma-related disorders in response to the RHI.
  
  
  METHODS
  The RHI was administered to three individuals with the dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and subjective, behavioral, cardiovascular and skin conductance responses were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants' subjective experiences of the RHI were differentiated and complex. The illusion was induced following both synchronous and asynchronous brushing and variably evoked subjective distress, depersonalization and derealization experiences, tonic immobility, increased physiological arousal and flashbacks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings point towards the RHI as a strong provocation stimulus that elicits individual patterns of symptom presentation, including experiences of distress and dissociation, in individuals with trauma-related disorders, including the dissociative subtype of PTSD.
  The rubber hand illusion (RHI) elicits distress, tonic immobility, depersonalization and derealization, and autonomic responses in individuals with trauma-related disorders, including the dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). RHI effects related to body misrepresentation may trigger altered experiences related to body ownership. The RHI represents a promising paradigm for studying the neurophenomenology of body distortion in individuals experiencing trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rabellino
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Sherain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harricharan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Frewen
authors.affiliation: SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Dalila
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burin
authors.affiliation: Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.|Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Margaret C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: McKinnon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Department of Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada; Ruth.Lanius@lhsc.on.ca.
authors.forename: Ruth A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lanius
keywords: Body ownership; autonomic arousal; consciousness; depersonalization; derealization; dis-embodiment; multi-sensorial integration