Skin temperature and the ability to perceive warm and cold thermal stimuli (i.e., thermoception) are fundamental to human survival, influencing both our evolutionary history and early individual development. Interestingly, recent research has also started to uncover the role of these thermosensory signals in cognition. Such signals may contribute to the construction of our bodily self-awareness, and specifically the sense of body ownership, which is defined as the feeling that the body and its parts belong to us. This review examines how thermosensory signals travel from the skin to the brain and their impact on body ownership in both healthy and clinical populations. Furthermore, we propose mechanisms that may underlie this interaction and highlight potential clinical and societal applications.

Changes in skin temperature play a key role in how strongly we experience our bodies as our own.

Salvato et al. report that proprioceptive deficits predict both disturbed sensation of ownership and anosognosia for hemiplegia following right-hemisphere

Scientific Reports - Bodily maps of exercise-induced feelings

Responsive social exchanges are critical for infants' bio-behavioural regulation and healthy development. Parental smartphone use may disrupt early pa…

This chapter explores the insula's role in shaping body image through interoception - the neural process of sensing, interpreting, and integrating internal bodily signals to facilitate a coherent sens...

Translational Psychiatry - Dissociations between bodily self-awareness components in women with Anorexia Nervosa

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