The research explores how the brain combines information from different senses to construct a representation of one's own body, using the well-known rubber hand illusion. In this experiment, a visible artificial hand is synchronized with the hidden real hand through tactile stimulation. When both are touched simultaneously, the person can begin to feel the artificial hand as part of their own body.
The study analyzed changes in the brain's spectral power and functional connectivity. The aim was to verify if multisensory integration left a trace in neural networks, affecting visual and somatosensory areas. 38 students from the University of Granada participated.
Results indicate that during the illusion, connectivity between brain regions involved in sensory processing increased. Surprisingly, purely visual stimulation of the rubber hand activated tactile regions, and tactile stimulation of the real hand activated visual areas. This suggests that the perception of the hand as one's own involves a broader reorganization of sensory processing.
These findings imply that vision and touch cease to function as independent systems when the rubber hand is integrated as part of the body. Stimulation of one sense can activate the other. The study concludes that feeling a hand as one's own influences how the brain separately processes what we see and touch, aiding in the understanding of the continuous construction of bodily experience.
