Feeling others' touch on your body? Mirror-touch synaesthesia reveals self-awareness secrets.
Mirror-touch synaesthesia causes people to feel touch sensations on their own body when they see someone else being touched. This study looked at how this condition affects the sense of agency (feeling in control of your actions) and sense of ownership (feeling like your body belongs to you). The researchers found that mirror-touch synaesthesia can change both sense of agency and sense of ownership, but in different ways. They suggest that problems with feeling in control of actions may be connected to more serious issues with feeling like your body belongs to you in mirror-touch synaesthesia.