Self & Body Lab

What is a Self? How does our brain generate the conscious experiencer of our lives? What is the relation between the physical self - the body - and the mental self? Our lab - based at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK - aims to tackle these thorny questions lying at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology and philosophy. We do this by creating 'out of body' illusions using video-based virtual reality setups, by measuring the integration of multisensory exteroceptive and interoceptive bodily signals, and by testing neurotypical participants, and participants with autism, chronic pain and depersonalisation. Our research probes both outside- and inside-bodily experience to investigate the brain bases of bodily self-consciousness.

Our studies have been published in high impact journals including Psychological Science, Autism, Developmental Science, Body Image and Cortex, and have been covered by media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Times, New Scientist and BBC Radio. Our research has been funded by the Bial Foundation, The British Academy, Versus Arthritis, The Leverhulme Trust, The Urology Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust.

If you are interested in pursuing PhD or postdoctoral research with us, or in collaborating, please contact Lab Head, Dr Jane Aspell.