Body representations and cognitive ontology: Drawing the boundaries of the body image

• Published in: Consciousness and cognition Vol. 74; p. 102772
• Main Author: Gadsby, Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Alice in wonderland syndrome; Anorexia nervosa; Body image; Body representation; Body schema; Cognitive ability; Cognitive ontology; Long-term; Nervous system; Self image; Body representation; Alice in wonderland syndrome; Body image; Cognitive ontology; Long-term; Anorexia nervosa; Body schema
• ISSN: 1053-8100; 1090-2376
• DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102772

•The long-term body image is distinct from the body model.•Tools are incorporated into the body model, not the long-term body image.•Alice in wonderland syndrome involves distortion of the body model, not the long-term body image. The distinction between body image and body schema has been incredibly influential in cognitive neuroscience. Recently, researchers have begun to speculate about the relationship between these representations (Gadsby, 2017, 2018; Pitron & de Vignemont, 2017; Pitron et al., 2018). Within this emerging literature, Pitron et al. (2018) proposed that the long-term body image and long-term body schema co-construct one another, through a process of reciprocal interaction. In proposing this model, they make two assumptions: that the long-term body image incorporates the spatial characteristics of tools, and that it is distorted in the case of Alice in wonderland syndrome. Here, I challenge these assumptions, with a closer examination of what the term “long-term body image” refers to. In doing so, I draw out some important taxonomic principles for research into body representation.