From maps to form to space: touch and the body schema.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review and theoretical model proposal without systematic synthesis or primary human data.
PubMed 19699214 · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.08.017
What was done
The authors reviewed behavioral studies in healthy participants and brain-damaged patients, along with functional neuroimaging findings, to synthesize evidence on tactile localization and body representation.
What was found
The abstract reports no empirical numbers or quantitative data. The authors propose dividing the traditional concept of the body schema into three distinct components: (1) primary somatotopic somatosensory representations of the skin surface that dynamically adapt to central lesions or peripheral changes (such as amputation or deafferentation); (2) secondary body form representations encoding perceived body size and shape; and (3) postural representations that track limb position in space to localize tactile stimuli within external, non-somatotopic reference frames.
Why it matters
This framework clarifies somatosensory processing by decomposing the broad concept of 'body schema' into separate topological, geometric, and spatial reference systems.
Limits
As a narrative review and theoretical proposal, this work does not present original empirical data, quantitative effect estimates, or systematic study selection criteria.
Cited by
- supports Synchronously tapping or rubbing one's own nose and another person's nose induces tactile illusions and distortions in perceived body schema.