Individual differences in susceptibility to experimentally induced phantom sensations.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional experimental study in healthy volunteers (graded by design analogy)
PubMed 18089197 · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.04.002
What was done
Investigators tested individual differences in 32 healthy participants subjected to biceps brachii tendon vibration to induce two phantom sensations: illusory arm extension and illusory nose prolongation (the Pinocchio illusion). Susceptibility was measured using ratings of vividness, illusory arm position change, and illusory nose shape change. Participants completed the Perceptual Aberration (PA) inventory to assess baseline body schema distortions and the Need for Cognition (NFC) inventory to assess cognitive structuring tendencies.
What was found
Perceptual Aberration scores correlated positively with susceptibility to illusory arm extension and, exclusively in male participants, with nose elongation. Higher Need for Cognition was weakly associated with greater susceptibility to the Pinocchio illusion. The abstract reports no exact correlation coefficients, effect sizes, or p-values.
Why it matters
These results suggest that baseline individual differences in body schema perception and cognitive processing styles influence vulnerability to somatosensory illusions, pointing toward physiological and cognitive contributors to experimentally induced phantom sensations.
Limits
The sample was small (n = 32) and composed solely of healthy volunteers. The abstract does not report numerical correlation coefficients or exact statistical parameters. Outcomes relied on subjective self-report ratings and questionnaire inventories.
Cited by
- supports Applying mechanical vibration to the biceps tendon while a person touches their nose induces an illusory perception that their nose is lengthening (the Pinocchio illusion).