Motion contagion & embodied cognition in VR

what is interoception

• headaches, hunger proprioception

• sensing the inside 

interoceptive awarness

• how we know what’s happening and how we feel inside our bodies

• emotions

• social behaviour e.g self awareness 

Exteroception

• sight, sound, smell, touch taste

• sensing the outside

Interception & exteroception

• combined percept of the body in the world

• located in various brain regions, including the insula, anterior cingulate cortex, somatosensory cortices, thalamus, and brainstem

how do we measure interoception

• heart rate

motor contagion

• involuntary imitation based on observed movements

  • e.g yawning after watching someone else yawn

• consided behavioural manifestation of mirror neuron system

motor contagion supports

• communication

• social interaction

• interpersonal coordination

• motor learning

motor contagion modulated by

• embodiment perspective

• congruency 

body ownership

• phenomenological sense of ‘this is me’

• integrates multisensorial signals

• studies through behavioural, neuropsychological & neurophysiological methods

• e.g rubber hand illusion

motor contagion effects on biological movement actions during humanoid robot mirrored & embodied experiences

• previous work shows motor contagion with humanoids (face-to-face, 2nd person) & virtual hands (1st & 3rd person)

• gap on whether there is a sense of self vs sense of other 

research on the relationship between sense of self vs. sense of other when embodying a physically present humanoid robot

• examined: Perspective (1PP vs F2F), Motion congruency, Motor variability

• Participants stand in front of robot & mimic its motion

• consistent motor contagion 

  • congruent = lower variance

  • incongruent = higher variance

• 1st person perspective amplifies variance

  • suggests stronger motor resonance + altered ownership/agency relationship

interpretation of research on the relationship between sense of self vs. sense of other when embodying a physically present humanoid robot

• suggests flexible self-other boundaries 

• provides partial evidence toward

  • body ownership shift

  • Potential delusion of control framework

Interception, alexithymia & motor congruency in VR (Savickaite, Gupta, Kannan)

• Do interoceptive traits (and alexithymia) modulate embodiment in VR

  • especially when motor cues are congruent vs. incongruent?

• Measures

  • interoceptive awareness (Heartbeat Counting Task),

  • Alexithymia (TAS-20)

  • Body Ownership (questionnaire)

• VR

  • Hand-tracking; seated

  • congruent = avatar mirrors picture

  • incongruent = avatar performs opposition while user pinches

Body ownership (EBO) emerges from

• integrating interoceptive + exteroceptive cues

results of Interception, alexithymia & motor congruency in VR (Savickaite, Gupta, Kannan)

• Motor congruency effect

  • Higher ownership in congruent

• Interoception was positively related to ownership under congruent feedback

• Alexithymia didnt have a significant predictor of ownership; negatively related to interoceptive awareness

• Greater SD in the incongruent condition → heterogeneous responses to sensory–motor mismatch.

• Congruent visual–motor cues robustly enhance embodiment.

• Interoceptive awareness appears to support ownership when cues align

  • less influence when cues conflict

• Alexithymia may have a lesser impact on embodiment in motor-driven VR than in visuo-tactile illusions.

Limits of Interception, alexithymia & motor congruency in VR

• Modest sample; HCT validity debated

• questionnaire included some “third hand” items not perfectly matched to the display

• heterogeneous sample (incl. ADHD/ASD) without subgroup power.

implications of Interception, alexithymia & motor congruency in VR

• ensure motor congruency to strengthen embodiment in VR interventions 

• Training interoceptive awareness could enhance VR-based rehabilitation/therapy relying on body ownership

• Larger, balanced samples; multi-axis interoception (cardiac/respiratory/GSR); refined embodiment scales;

• full-body avatars - limited to hands

• objective motor accuracy; test motor contagion paradigms - limited studies

User engagement

• Smooth navigation and intuitive design are essential for keeping users engaged

• Tailoring the interface to user needs boosts satisfaction and compliance

Cross-Device Adaptability

• Responsive design ensures functionality across various devices

FrameVR, UX & accessibility