Investigating disembodiment-related brain activation by interaction between perspective-shifting and the experience of agency in autism spectrum disorder: a possible relationship with interoceptive ability
Ahjeong Hur 1, Seungwon Chung 2, 3, Huiyeong Jeon 2, Hoyeon Lee 3, Yong-Wook Shin 4, Jung-Woo Son 2, 3, 5*
1Department of Psychology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea, 2Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Republic of Korea, 3Autism and Developmental Disorders Treatment Center, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Republic of Korea, 4Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 5Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
Received: May 3, 2024; Revised: September 11, 2024; Accepted: September 21, 2024; Published online: September 21, 2024.
© The Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. All rights reserved.

Abstract
Objective ; Many studies have explored sense of self in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, few have reported on their experience of “disembodiment.” This study aimed to investigate the differences in brain activity between patients with ASD and neurotypicals (NTs) under conditions causing disembodiment and to examine the correlation between their interoceptive abilities and disembodiment-related brain activity.
Methods ; 18 participants with ASD and 21 NTs completed psychological evaluations, interoceptive abilities measurement, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI images were taken while the participants performed tasks involving ball-throwing animations. The task focused on either self-agency related to ball-throwing (Agency Task) or the spatial location of a ball (Location Task). The animations were presented from constantly changing perspective (Changing View) or fixed perspective (Fixed View). The disembodiment-related condition was the interaction between the Agency Task and Changing View.
Results ; Participants with ASD exhibited higher activation than NTs in regions near the left parieto-temporo-occipital junction, left precuneus, left hippocampus and other brain areas. Furthermore, interoceptive accuracy was negatively correlated with the activity of the left superior parietal and posterior midcingulate areas, whereas interoceptive trait prediction error was positively correlated with the activity of the left hippocampus, mid-temporal area, and left posterior cingulate area in participants with ASD.
Conclusion ; These results suggest that disembodiment-related brain activation might be easily manifested by the interaction between perspective-shifting and the experience of agency, and that interoceptive abilities might be related to disembodiment-related brain activation in individuals with ASD.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, disembodiment, functional magnetic resonance imaging, interoception, perspective, agency

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