The development of bodily awareness in childhood.

We often take the feeling of 'being someone' for granted. However, this experience is the result of complex automatic processing of sensory information, which gives feeling of inhabiting a physical body. For example, I feel ownership over a body which I see moving at the same time as feeling my own body move; or over a body where I see touch at the same time as feeling touch. I also compare the viewed body form with mental models of the layout of my body: if a body looks different to my own, I may not accept it as mine. How do these processes function in childhood, as the body is constantly changing? Previously, investigation has provided a limited understanding of how vision and touch interact to give a sense of bodily self. Using motion capture and fully-immersive virtual reality (VR), this PhD will
examine how cues such as movement and body form contribute to bodily awareness in adults and children. Study 1 will examine the effect of perspective; Study 2 will
compare the effects of visuotactile and visuomotor cues on bodily awareness; and Study 3 will investigate the role of viewed body form. Study 4 will investigate the relationships between different measures of bodily awareness. Data will make an important contribution to knowledge of bodily awareness. Through our collaboration with Vicon Motion Systems, we will also develop the impact of the work in fields such as the use of VR in video games where the player inhabits a virtual body.