Your Body, My Experience: A Systematic Review of Embodiment Illusions as a Function of and Method to Improve Body Image Disturbance

Abstract

Body image disturbance (BID) is a core feature of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder, with embodiment illusions offering the potential for understanding and treating BID through manipulating multisensory integration processes underlying self-perception. This systematic review is the first to evaluate evidence on whether (a) varying BID levels (i.e., BID-related diagnoses or higher levels of BID symptomatology) impact susceptibility to embodiment illusions and (b) embodiment illusions can improve BID symptomatology. Thirty-two studies involving clinical and community samples met the inclusion criteria. Generally, individuals with higher BID showed greater susceptibility to embodime..