Linking the inner and outer mental representations of the body to social cognition skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Autor: Canino S; Department of Health Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy. Electronic address: silvia.canino@unicz.it., Torchia V; Department of Health Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy., Gaita M; Department of Psychology, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', Caserta, Italy., Raimo S; Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy., Palermo L; Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy. Electronic address: liana.palermo@unicz.it.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Neuropsychologia [Neuropsychologia] 2024 Nov 05; Vol. 204, pp. 108989. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 02.
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108989
Abstrakt: An interesting interpretation of embodiment highlights the critical role of mental body representations (BR), including motor, somatosensory, and interoceptive formats, for social cognition. However, the nature of this relationship is still debated at the empirical level, with various studies arriving at different conclusions. Here, we present a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize data from 3466 participants in 21 studies to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between inner and outer BR and social cognition. We focused on two core social cognition aspects: empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM). Concerning the inner BR, our meta-analytic findings reveal a significant correlation between specific interoceptive dimensions (i.e., interoceptive sensibility and accuracy) and social cognition, which was stronger for empathy than ToM. Conversely, although further research is needed, functional BR that mainly involve the outer body processing (i.e., nonaction-oriented BR) may show positive links with ToM. These findings point to specific interactions between BR and social cognition skills, supporting multi-faceted and embodied social cognition models. However, we also identified critical knowledge gaps and highlighted the need for further investigation to deepen our theoretical understanding of these relationships and their implications for clinical practice.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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