Transient depersonalisation (DP) experiences, which include fundamental alterations in the experience of one’s bodily self are relatively common in the general population, with a lifetime prevalence rate of 26 - 74% . People who experience DP describe feeling detached or estranged from their body and self, and sometimes also their surroundings (derealisation). People with persistent depersonalisation experiences are diagnosed with Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder (DPRD), a disturbing psychiatric condition estimated to be present in 1-2% of the population, although it is thought to be under-diagnosed. Our lab has been running a project - funded by The Bial Foundation, in collaboration with Dr Anna Ciaunica, Prof Bigna Lengenhagger and Dr Jennifer Windt, and led by Matt Gwyther - investigating the experience of the bodily self in people from the non-clinical population who have depersonalisation symptoms. We recently published a paper based on our first study:

Gwyther, M., Lenggenhager, B., Windt, J., Aspell, J. E.*, & Ciaunica, A.* (2024) Examining the association between depersonalisation traits and the bodily self in waking and dreaming.  (*contributed equally) Scientific Reports 14, 6107.

Other publications are forthcoming and will be posted here!

In March 2023 we worked with artists from Anglia Ruskin's Cambridge School of Art* to create an immersive art-science exhibition at the Cambridge Festival, utilising audio-visual installations and VR artworks, to explore and visualise some of the dream reports we collected during our study investigating dreams and depersonalisation. The exhibition handbook is here and some photos and videos from the exhibition are below. Matt Gwyther's website has further content related to the exhibition, and links to an ebook (‘Essays on Dissociation and Depersonalisation’) that he co-authored with Gwynnevere Suter, Sarah Coyle, Joe Perkins & Gwendalyn Webb.

*Cambridge School of Art collaborators: Dr Nanette Hoogslag, Emily Godden, Jewel Chang, Kelsey Wu, Suhong Zhou, Xinyue Peng, Jinpu Zuo, Megann Ma, Yuxin Gu, Chenny Zhang.

Research Assistants & Interns: Hamish Miller, Sarah Coyle, Gwynnevere Suter, Lily Vissouze.

We are very grateful for the continuing input from board members of Unreal - a UK-based charity that supports people living with depersonalisation-derealisation disorder and helps to raise awareness of this little-understood and under-diagnosed condition.