Body and Self Group

Young woman standing alone on lake footbridge and looking at sunrise in grey, misty sky

Members of the Body and Self Group investigate the multisensory representation of the body and the bodily self by using the methods of cognitive neuroscience.

Our interests cover investigations of bodily self-consciousness, tactile perception, peripersonal space, cardiac and gastric interoception, body image, alexithymia and pain.

We also study how bodily self-consciousness varies across development, in autism, in pregnancy, and in some neurological, psychiatric and pain disorders.

The Body and Self Group is part of the ARU Centre for Mind and Behaviour.

We offer a Psychology PhD. We have also identified a range of innovative research project opportunities for postgraduate researchers.

For more information, contact Prof Jane Aspell at [email protected] or Dr Flavia Cardini at [email protected]

Members

Discover more about our members on their profile pages

  • Azeezat Aminu
  • Ryan Laughton
  • Phaedra Longhurst
  • Lovell Jones
  • Benjamin Gros

  • Prof Jane Aspell: Public talk at New Scientist 'Instant Expert: Inside the Conscious Mind' one-day masterclass in London in September, 2024.
  • Prof Jane Aspell: Oral presentation as part of a symposium at the annual conference of the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in Ghent, Belgium, 2024.
  • Prof Jane Aspell: "Constructing the self: how the brain creates self-consciousness", International Bioethics Conference, 2024.
  • Phaedra Longhurst: Talk and workshop delivered at the International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) in New York, 2024.
  • Prof Jane Aspell: Psychology Subject Spotlight video 'Out-of-Body Experiences: Explaining the Brain', Springpod website, 2024.
  • Dr Jennifer Todd and Prof Jane Aspell: Organised PPI event “Fibromyalgia and the body: A public research showcase”, 2024.
  • Prof Jane Aspell: Public talks to the Cambridge Rotary Club and Cambridge Skeptics Group, September 2023.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: Expert shares fascinating insight into why some people have near-death experiences, The Mirror, April 2023.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: Instant Genius Podcast: Out-of-body experiences, BBC Science Focus magazine, April 2023.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: A Dream Collaboration for Neuroscientists and Artists. Neuroscience News, March 2023.
  • Dr Jennifer Todd: Weaker implicit interoception is associated with more negative body image: Evidence from gastric-alpha phase amplitude coupling and the heartbeat evoked potential, interview, All in the Mind, BBC Radio 4, 2023.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: Can selves leave bodies? How science explains out of body experiences, talk, Cambridge Festival, 2023.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: Living in a Dream: a visual exploration of the self in dreams using AI technology, art/science exhibit, Cambridge Festival, 2023.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: The Significance of Interoception, Psychology Today, May 2022.
  • Dr Jennifer Todd: Generating the foundations of the self, interactive exhibition, Cambridge Festival, 2022.
  • Dr Jennifer Todd: Turning Bodies Inside Out – Introception and Body Image, guest talk, Body Image and Society, University College Dublin, 2022.
  • Dr Jennifer Todd: Using digital tools to explore bodily awareness and pain in fibromyalgia, invited talk, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, University of Verona, 2022.
  • Dr Jane Aspell: Earworms in sleep, body sensations and image, Louis Wain exhibition, interview, All in the Mind, BBC Radio 4, 2021 (interview starts at 09:47).

Finn, D., Cardini, F., Aspell, J.E., Swami, V. & Todd, J. (2024) The Impact of Body Image on Social Cognition: Fear of Negative Evaluation Mediates the Relationship between Body Surveillance and Interpersonal Distance in Women. Body Image (in press)

Longhurst, P., Todd, J., Aspell, J. E., & Swami, V. (2024). Psychometric evaluation of a revised version of the body appreciation scale-2 for autistic adults (BAS-2A). Body Image, 49, 101706. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101706

Todd, J., Plans, D., Lee, M. C., Bird, J. M., Morelli, D., Cunningham, A., ... & Aspell, J. E. (2024). Heightened interoception in adults with fibromyalgia. Biological Psychology, 186, 108761. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108761

Salzer, E. B., Meireles, J. F. F., Kirk, E., Preston, C. E., e Sá, D. V., & Neves, C. M. (2024). Body understanding measure for pregnancy scale (BUMPs): Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties among Brazilian pregnant women. Body Image, 49, 101689. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101689

Stafford, L., Munns, L., Crossland, A. E., Kirk, E., & Preston, C. E. (2024). Bonding with bump: Interoceptive sensibility moderates the relationship between pregnancy body satisfaction and antenatal attachment. Midwifery, 131, 103940. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2024.103940

Gwyther, M. P., Lenggenhager, B., Windt, J. M., Aspell, J. E., & Ciaunica, A. (2024). Examining the association between depersonalisation traits and the bodily self in waking and dreaming. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 6107. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56119-w

Crossland, A. E., Munns, L., Kirk, E., & Preston, C. E. J. (2023). Comparing body image dissatisfaction between pregnant women and non-pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 23(1), 709. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-05930-w

Gupta, U., Bright, P., Clarke, A., Zafar, W., Recarte-Perez, P., & Aspell, J. E. (2023). Illusory ownership of one's younger face facilitates access to childhood episodic autobiographical memories. Preprint: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.pex-2339/v1

Poerio, G. L., Osman, F., Todd, J., Kaur, J., Jones, L., & Cardini, F. (2023). From the outside in: ASMR is characterised by reduced interoceptive accuracy but higher sensation seeking. Multisensory Research, 1(aop), 1-21.  Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22134808-bja10108

Mebarak, M., Todd, J., Chamorro Coneo, A. M., Muñoz-Alvis, A., Polo-Vargas, J. D., De Los Reyes Aragón, C., Herrera, M., Martínez, M., De Los Ríos, O. L. H., Mendoza, J. C., Carrasquilla, A. and Swami, V. (2023) 'Psychometric Properties of a Spanish Translation of the Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS) in Adults from Colombia', Body Image , 47, 101631.  Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.101631

Anastasiades, E., Todd, J., Argyrides, M. and Swami, V. (2023) 'Psychometric properties of a Greek translation of the Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS) in adults from the Republic of Cyprus', Body Image, 45, pp. 25-33. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.01.010

Overgaard, M., Preston, C. and Aspell, J. E. (2023) 'The Self, its Body and its Brain' (Guest Editorial), Scientific Reports  13(1), 12761. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39959-w

Longhurst, P., Aspell, J. E., Todd, J. and Swami, V. (2023) '“There’s No Separating My View of My Body from My Autism”: A Qualitative Study of Positive Body Image in Autistic Individuals', Body Image, 48, 101655.  Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.101655

Todd, J., Swami, V., Aspell, J. E., Furnham, A., Horne, G. and Stieger, S. (2022) 'Are Some Interoceptive Sensibility Components More Central than Others? Using Item Pool Visualisation to Understand the Psychometric Representation of Interoception', PLOS ONE, 17(12), e0277894. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-01977-7

Todd, J. and Aspell, J. E. (2022) 'Mindfulness, Interoception, and the Body' (Editorial), Brain Sciences, 12(6), pp. 696. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci1206069

Todd, J., Aspell, J. E., Lee, M. C. and Thiruchelvam, N. (2022) 'How is pain associated with pelvic mesh implants measured? Refinement of the construct and a review of current assessment tools', BMC Women’s Health, 22, pp. 396. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-01977-7

Swami, V. and Todd, J. (2022) 'Rural-Urban Differences in Body Appreciation and Associations with Life Satisfaction in Adults from Sabah, Malaysia', Body Image, 43, pp. 385-392. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.10.007

Swami, V., Todd, J. and Tylka, T. L. (2022) 'Measuring positive breast experience: Development and psychometric evaluation of the Breast Appreciation Scale (BrAS)', Body Image, 43, pp. 275-291. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.09.007

Swami, V., Todd, J., Azzi, V., Malaeb, D., El Dine, A. S., Obeid, S. and Hallit, S. (2022) 'Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS) in Lebanese adults', Body Image, 42, pp. 361-369. Available at: ttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.07.008

Todd, J., Cardellicchio, P., Swami, V., Cardini, F. and Aspell, J. E. (2021) 'Weaker implicit interoception is associated with more negative body image: Evidence from gastric-alpha phase amplitude coupling and the heartbeat evoked potential', Cortex, 143, pp. 254-266. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.07.006

Todd, J., Barron, D., Aspell, J. E., Kheng Lin Toh, E., Syahirah Zahari, H., Azzatunnisak Mohd Khatib, N. and Swami, V. (2021). 'Examining Relationships between Interoceptive Awareness and Body Image in a non-Western context: A study with Malaysian adults', International Perspectives in Psychology. Available at https://doi.org/10.1027/2157-3891/a000022

Heydrich, L., Walker, F, Blättler, L., Herbelin, B., Blanke, O. and Aspell, J. E. (2021) 'Interoception and empathy impact perspective taking', Frontiers in Psychology – Perception Science, 11, pp. 4016.