Unpicking the ties between sense of ownership and sense of agency.

This paper expands on growing research into two distinctive features of self-awareness: body-ownership and agency. The paper suggests that one’s sense of body-ownership is primarily a function of afferent signals in the brain. These are in essence the body’s sensory inputs. Conversely, one’s sense of agency is primarily a function of efferent signals in the brain. These are in essence the body’s motor outputs. One of the interesting conclusions is that one’s sense of ownership is attenuated without the assistance of sense of agency. There are potentially implications here for the sequencing of the stages in the evolution of consciousness.

Link to paper: http://wexler.free.fr/library/files/tsakiris%20%282007%29%20on%20agency%20and%20body-ownership%20phenomenological%20and%20neurocognitive%20reflections.pdf

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