Manipulating body representations with virtual reality: Clinical implications for anorexia nervosa |
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Authors: | Stephen Gadsby |
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Affiliation: | Cognition and Philosophy Lab, School of Philosophical, Historical, and International Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia |
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Abstract: | Anorexia nervosa patients exhibit distorted body-representations. Specifically, they represent their bodies as larger than reality. Given that this distortion likely exacerbates the condition, there is an obligation to further understand and, if possible, rectify it. In pursuit of this, experimental paradigms are needed which manipulate the spatial content of these representations. In this essay, I discuss how virtual reality technology that implements full-body variants of the rubber-hand illusion may prove useful in this regard, and I discuss some issues related to the clinical application of this method. |
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Keywords: | Anorexia nervosa body-image body-schema rubber-hand illusion treatment virtual reality |
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