Leafing Through Science

Following Episode 1 - Part 1, this second part of Hedi’s conversation with science writer Moheb Costandi unpacks how our sense of agency – the feeling of being in control of our actions and responsible for their outcomes – can be disrupted in conditions like Alien Hand Syndrome and schizophrenia, manipulated on the operating table, or even altered in everyday life. Their discussion also ranges from the science behind anorexia nervosa and Alice in Wonderland Syndrome to peripersonal space – the invisible bubble around our bodies that helps define the boundary between self and world. What do these insights reveal about the nature of consciousness itself?

Relevant links:

Book – Body Am I: The New Science of Self-Consciousness by Moheb Costandi

More about Moheb

Further Reading & Support for Conditions Mentioned:

Research and support for chronic pain and phantom limb pain

Support for amputees and prosthetics users

Charity for limbless veterans and their families

Supporting those with eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction and Overview of Bodily Awareness

(01:52) When Hands Have a Mind of Their Own

(03:30) Distorted Agency in Schizophrenia

(06:25) Avatar Therapy

(07:33) An Alien Hand Case

(08:52) Manipulating Agency in the Lab

(10:57) Surgically Hijacking Free Will

(12:25) Body Awareness in Anorexia

(16:27) Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

(19:53) Peripersonal Space

(24:40) Prosthetic Limbs and Robotic Hands

(26:15) Implications for Consciousness

(27:34) Wrapping Up

Episode Credits:

Creator & Series Producer: Hedi Young

Concept Development & Curation: Ana Rita Mendes, António Monteiro, Carla Emilie Pereira, Catarina Ramos, Diana Cadete, Hedi Young, João Van Zelst, John Lee, Marta Correia, Thaïs Lindemann and Teresa Fernandes

Host: Hedi Young

Guest: Moheb Costandi

Graphic Design: Marta Correia

Sound Design: João Van Zelst

Dissemination: Ana Rita Mendes and Diana Cadete

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Champalimaud Foundation.

In this inaugural episode, Hedi sits down with veteran science writer Moheb Costandi about his fascinating book Body Am I: The New Science of Self-Consciousness.

From phantom breasts and rubber hands to the Pinocchio illusion and out-of-body experiences; from amputating a healthy leg to feel whole, to scratching an itch with a ghostly third arm – prepare to journey through the strange and astonishing ways our brains construct a sense of bodily self. Moheb walks us through the science, the syndromes, and the people whose experiences reveal just how malleable – and downright bizarre – our sense of owning a body really is.

Relevant links:

Book – Body Am I: The New Science of Self-Consciousness by Moheb Costandi

More about Moheb

Chapters:

(00:00) Losing a Limb to Feel Whole

(01:12) Introduction

(03:36) Understanding Bodily Awareness

(04:41) A Hand That Isn’t Mine vs. A Hand I Can’t Control

(05:51) Phantom Limbs, Breasts, and Beyond

(08:26) Phantom Sensations in Transgender Individuals

(09:49) Counting with Invisible Fingers

(11:14) Therapies for Phantom Pain

(12:50) Rubber Hands, Rubber Tails: The Illusion from Humans to Mice

(16:34) Hammers, Knives, and Illusions in the Pub

(18:32) Body Integrity Identity Disorder

(21:08) A Surgeon, a Pistol, and a Leg

(22:02) Hemiplegia and The Denial of Paralysis

(23:36) Discovering Body Maps in the Brain

(26:58) Scratching an Itch with a Ghostly Third Arm

(29:02) The Multisensory Mind

(30:13) Inducing Out-of-body Experiences

(31:50) The Body Swap Illusion

(32:35) The Barbie Doll Illusion

(33:49) Proprioception and the Pinocchio Illusion

(35:00) The Story of Ian Waterman

(36:20) Interoception and the Origins of Emotion

(39:21) Alexithymia and Emotional Blindness

(39:56) Wrapping Up & What’s Next

Episode Credits:

Creator & Series Producer: Hedi Young

Concept Development & Curation: Ana Rita Mendes, António Monteiro, Carla Emilie Pereira, Catarina Ramos, Diana Cadete, Hedi Young, João Van Zelst, John Lee, Marta Correia, Thaïs Lindemann and Teresa Fernandes

Host: Hedi Young

Guest: Moheb Costandi

Graphic Design: Marta Correia

Sound Design: João Van Zelst

Dissemination: Ana Rita Mendes and Diana Cadete

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Champalimaud Foundation.