The development of body ownership in infants - a rubber hand illusion study -

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K14265
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 10040:Experimental psychology-related
• Research Institution: Chukyo University (2022); Chuo University (2020-2021)
• Principal Investigator: Yang Jiale 中京大学, 心理学部, 講師 (80844703)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 身体所有感 / 乳児 / 定常状態視覚誘発電位

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The development of sense of body ownership is not yet well understood. In present study, we used Steady-State Visually Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) to investigate the development of sense of body ownership generated by multisensory integration. In the experiment, infants observed a flickering video of a metal tube stroking the back of the hand. The SSVEP amplitude induced was compared between conditions where the actual touch was synchronized with the video, and conditions where there was no touch at all. We found that the SSVEP amplitude induced in the condition with tactile stimulation was higher than in the condition without tactile stimulation only in 8-month-old rather than 4-month-old. These results suggested that the body representation integrating multisensory inputs is already developed by 7-8 months of age, and body ownership is acquired through postnatal development.

Free Research Field

知覚心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

この研究は、身体所有感の発達に焦点を当て、学術的には認知科学や発達心理学の分野に新しい知見を提供する。特に、生後7-8ヶ月の乳児が身体に関する多感覚情報を統合し、身体所有感を形成する能力を持っていることが示された。これは、身体所有感の発達プロセスを理解する上で重要である。社会的意義としては、この知見が乳児の早期教育や健康プログラムの設計に貢献する可能性がある。多感覚刺激の重要性を認識し、それを活用して乳児の発達を支援する効果的な戦略を考える手助けになるだろう。