A Scoping Review and Integrated Model of Embodiment in Psychosis

Disrupted embodiment—the integration of sensory, motor, and cognitive processes underlying self-experience and bodily awareness—is a consistent feature across psychotic disorders and psychotic-like experiences. A scoping review of 91 studies, mostly cross-sectional and using single-modality assessments, found large effect sizes in 33 studies indicating disrupted embodiment across six domains: phenomenological, interoceptive, exteroceptive, proprioceptive, multisensory integration, and social and embodied cognition. The authors propose an integrative framework to unify these fragmented findings and guide future research using multimodal tools.

Study at a glance

Abstract

AbstractBackground and Hypothesis: Embodiment refers to the integration of sensory, motor, and cognitive processes that underpin self-experience, agency, and bodily awareness. Psychosis studies have demonstrated disruptions in embodied processes through a diverse series of methodological approaches. The aim of this scoping review was to systematically review the range of methodological approaches that have been employed in the study of embodiment in clinical psychotic disorders and non-clinical psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), to delineate the conceptualisation and measurement of embodiment in psychosis and propose an integrative model of embodiment in psychosis to support rigorous hypothesis testing in the future.Study Design: This pre-registered scoping review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines and included peer-reviewed, cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies examining embodiment in psychosis and PLEs, which were analysed using a narrative synthesis approach. Eligible studies were sourced from PsycInfo, PubMed, and CINAHL. Quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Study Results: Ninety one studies met inclusion criteria for full review, reflecting a very large but diverse literature. Studies were categorised into six research domains: phenomenological, interoceptive, exteroceptive, proprioceptive, multisensory integration, social and embodied Cognition. Disrupted embodiment was consistently observed across domains, with 33 studies reporting large effect sizes, Most studies were cross-sectional and employed single-modality assessments To address this fragmentation, findings were synthesised into an integrative embodiment in psychosis framework.Outcomes: Disrupted embodiment is a clinically relevant feature of psychosis. Future research should prioritise multimodal tools and integrated studies to advance embodied models of psychosis.Keywords: Embodiment, Psychosis, Disembodiment, Phenomenology; Psychotic-Like Experiences; Sensory Integration