The contribution of cutaneous thermal signals to bodily self-awareness

Thermosensory signals may contribute to the sense of body ownership, but their role remains highly debated. We test this assumption within the framework of pathological body ownership, hypothesising that skin temperature and thermoception differ between right-hemisphere stroke patients with and without Disturbed Sensation of Ownership (DSO) for the contralesional plegic upper limb. Patients with DSO exhibit lower basal hand temperatures bilaterally and impaired perception of cold and warm stimuli. Lesion mapping reveals associations in the right Rolandic Operculum and Insula, with these regions linked to lower skin temperature located posterior to those associated with thermoception deficits. Disconnections in bilateral parietal regions are associated with lower hand temperature, while disconnections in a right-lateralized thalamus-parietal hub correlate with thermoception deficits. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings in the context of the ongoing debate on the role of homeostatic signals in shaping a coherent sense of body ownership.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-01-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55829-7
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Action Observation and Synchronization
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
26.82

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article

The contribution of cutaneous thermal signals to bodily self-awareness

Aikaterini Fotopoulou, Paul M. Jenkinson, Gerardo Salvato, Martina Gandola et al.
11 citations
Nature Communications
Action Observation and Synchronization
26.82
article

The contribution of cutaneous thermal signals to bodily self-awareness

Aikaterini Fotopoulou, Paul M. Jenkinson, Gerardo Salvato, Martina Gandola, Maria Sessa, Francesco Crottini, Teresa Fazia, Damiano Crivelli, Manuela Sellitto, Silvia Squarza, Mariangela Piano, Gabriella Bottini
article en
11 citations

Abstract

Thermosensory signals may contribute to the sense of body ownership, but their role remains highly debated. We test this assumption within the framework of pathological body ownership, hypothesising that skin temperature and thermoception differ between right-hemisphere stroke patients with and without Disturbed Sensation of Ownership (DSO) for the contralesional plegic upper limb. Patients with DSO exhibit lower basal hand temperatures bilaterally and impaired perception of cold and warm stimuli. Lesion mapping reveals associations in the right Rolandic Operculum and Insula, with these regions linked to lower skin temperature located posterior to those associated with thermoception deficits. Disconnections in bilateral parietal regions are associated with lower hand temperature, while disconnections in a right-lateralized thalamus-parietal hub correlate with thermoception deficits. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings in the context of the ongoing debate on the role of homeostatic signals in shaping a coherent sense of body ownership.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
University of Pavia (IT), Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia (IT), Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda (IT), Cairnmillar Institute (AU), Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta (IT), University College London (GB)
European Commission
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Action Observation and Synchronization
26.82
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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