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Call for Newsletter Items
If you have any items of news (e.g. job postings, papers or announcements to share) please share these with us by emailing bodyrepnet(at)gmail.com
We welcome anything you think might be of relevance to the community!
November 2024 NEWS
Dear BRNet Community,
The BRNet Committee is happy to announce the relaunch of the official Body Representation Network Newsletter! After a period of transition, our new newsletter team is now fully in place, and you can look forward to regular updates once again.
PLEASE NOTE: We have a new email address: bodyrepnet@gmail.com
The New BRNet Committee
We would like to introduce the new BRNet Committee to the community:
Co-chairs: Matthew Longo & Catherine Preston
Seminar organisers: Valeria Peviani & Gaia Risso
Mailing list organisers: Kirsten McKenzie & Laura Mora
Social Media Team: Marie Martel, Paula Salamone & Laura Dodd
ECR coordinators: Lara Coehlo & Lucy Stafford
Website Coordinator: Jane Aspell
BRNET 2025: The Computing Body
Save the date: July 2-4, 2025, Utrecht, the Netherlands
In order to sense and interact with the environment, an agent must continuously represent the state of the body, adapt to novel and unexpected environments, and accurately distinguish between self and other. The last several decades have seen an increasing number of influential conceptual models addressing these processes. For the 7th edition of BRNet, we will highlight computational approaches to understanding how the brain represents the body, focusing on the construction, maintenance, and flexibility of the body and the self. This “computational turn” is a relatively new approach in the field, with many open, unanswered, and unknown questions! We hope you will join on us on this exciting journey.
The program of BRNet7 will consist of a computational workshop, four keynote lectures (Pieter Medendorp, Marie Chancel, Matej Hoffmann, and a TBD Early Career Researcher), an ECR event, and two sessions of short talks and posters.
The first day (July 2) will be a workshop that is focused on providing a basic understanding about what computational modelling is, how it relates to body representation, and how it can be applied to your own data and research. We will assume zero previous experience and very basic mathematical knowledge. In short, we aim to make it accessible to everyone who is interested.
More information will be shared here soon!
We hopen jullie allemaal in Utrecht te zien! / We hope to see you all in Utrecht!
IMRF 2025
Save the date: July 15-18, 2025
The 23rd International Multisensory Research Forum will take place at Durham University in Durham, United Kingdom on July 15-18, 2025.
https://imrf2025.sciencesconf.org/
The 23rd annual International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF) is a scientific meeting that aims to advance our understanding of how the nervous system processes information from multiple senses to shape both perception and action. This multidisciplinary conference features neuroscientists, psychologists, engineers, biologists, cognitive scientists and others coming together to present and discuss the most recent and impactful work in the field. Active topics of research include human and animal behaviour, sensory anatomy and physiology, neural correlates of multisensory processes, computational modeling, perception, attention, development, adaptation, decision making, as well as clinical and technological applications.
Durham is a charming university city in the Northeast of England, known for its stunning medieval architecture and rich history. With a population of around 50,000, it is home to the stunning Durham Cathedral and Castle, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The cathedral, with its Norman architecture, is considered one of the finest in Europe. It also houses the third oldest University in England: Durham University.
We look forward to welcoming you to IMRF 2025 in Durham, UK
New BRNet Early Career Award
The BRNet Early Career Award recognizes outstanding independent and original contributions to body representation research, highlighting individuals with the potential to become future leaders in the field. Eligible nominees must have obtained their PhD (or equivalent degree) within six years prior to the nomination deadline, with allowances for career breaks or part-time employment. Nominees can hold a permanent position, but for no more than two years.
Nominations will be judged on the following criteria:
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The quality and originality of their research, and its significance to the field of body representation.
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Research impact (inside and/or outside academia).
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Leadership and independence (evidence by leading research projects and publishing independently to their PhD supervisor).
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Evidence of mentorship of other researchers (e.g. student supervision, wider contributions to the field).
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Future potential - evidence for emerging influence in the field.
Nominations must be submitted by an established researcher in body representation (i.e., a PhD holder with relevant publications in the field). Self-nominations are not permitted. Potential candidates who are having difficulty finding a nominator may contact the network chairs for assistance. Each submission should include the nominee’s CV and a cover letter (maximum two pages) detailing how the nominee meets the award criteria, supported by specific examples and key publications.
Nominations must be sent to the BRNet Chairs by 1st January, 2025 (m.longo(at)bbk.ac.uk; catherine.preston(at)york.ac.uk).
Award winners will be invited to give a prize talk at the following BRNet conference. Travel and accommodation should ordinarily be covered in the same manner as for keynote speakers
BRNet Logo design competition!
We are seeking submissions for a new logo design!
Here’s how to participate:
Format: Logos may be submitted in any format, though vector graphics are preferred if possible.
How to Submit: Please email your logo design entry, along with the names of all contributors to: bodyrepnet@gmail.com
Submission Deadline: 1st January 2025 5pm GMT.
Selection Process: The committee will review all submissions in our January meeting and select a winning design.
Announcement and Recognition: The winning logo will be unveiled at the 2025 BRNet Conference, where the designer(s) will be credited. The new logo will also be featured on our website and social media channels.
Open positions
PhD position (ESRC-funded) at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Topic: Ultra-processed food overconsumption and Interoceptive Awareness
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are hyper-palatable, energy-dense products that are often of low nutritional quality. They contribute to an obesogenic environment and unhealthy nutritional behaviours that can harm human health. There is a propensity to overconsume UPFs, with reports showing UPFs make up over 50% of dietary intake. An overlooked aspect of human health, particularly with respect to UPFs, is interoception – the perception of the body’s internal states. This PhD will investigate whether interoception is linked to UPF intake, using both experience sampling methods and laboratory investigations. The interdisciplinary supervisory team will consist of two cognitive neuroscientists and a nutrition scientist.
Start date: September 2025
Supervisors: Prof. Jane Aspell, Dr Sanjoy Deb (Anglia Ruskin) & Dr Maria-Laura Filippetti (Essex)
Deadline: 15th December 2024
Application portal: https://www.aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research/cam-doctoral-training-partnership-phd-studentships
Informal enquiries to: jane.aspell@aru.ac.uk
Jane Aspell’s lab website: https://sites.google.com/view/self-and-body-lab-aru/home
APRIL 2024 NEWS
Dear BRNetters,
we have important news and reminders for the community:
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Deadline for abstracts submission and registration to the next BRNet Workshop has been extended to May 10th 2024. Hurry up, don't miss this opportunity!
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Don't forget to vote for the new BRNet Committee elections: The poll will be open until tomorrow April 30th. Your vote matters!
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Conference invitation: Neuroscience, Dance, the Arts and Therapy: Translating Research into Practice on Friday, 7th June 2024, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
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Postdoc open positions in Prof Merle Fairhurst's Lab in Dresden, Germany
The deadline for abstracts submission and registration to the next BRNet Workshop has been extended to May 10th 2024. Hurry up, don't miss this opportunity!
To submit your abstract and register, please visit the BRNet website.
It is not too late!
As you know, the BRNet Steering Committee is undergoing renewal: Your contribution is crucial!
Please take a moment to cast your vote for your preferred candidate/s by clicking here. The poll will remain open until April 30th.
Please note that voting is only open for roles that received more nominations than available positions. New members will be notified once the poll concludes.
We extend our gratitude to everyone who expressed interest in being part of the new Committee and we wish all our candidates the best of luck!
Neuroscience, Dance, the Arts and Therapy: Translating Research into Practice
Friday 7th June 2024, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
On behalf of the Organizers, we would like to invite you to this interesting conference held by the newly established AHRC-funded network: Neuroscience meets Dance in Therapy: Towards a Neuroscientific Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing.
To confirm your attendance, you can go ahead and book your free ticket on Eventbrite here.
Professor Merle Fairhurst is looking for two new energetic, passionate and motivated post doctoral researchers to join the ConTakt lab, part of the CeTI excellence cluster, at TU Dresden (Germany). Their work primarily deals with how we connect with others and how touch influences this connection (Con --- Takt). They use a range of methodologies and approaches including kinematic mapping of behaviour, hyperscanning (FNIRS), physiological recording, and subjective report. Being based in CeTI, they work at the intersection of psychology, engineering, quantum communication, philosophy, and cognitive neuroscience. The ideal candidates are individuals who want to jump into a new position with enthusiasm and to drive two specific projects forward.
1) The first project deals with detailing the many dimensions of copresence in two-person interactions using two-person neuroimaging (FNIRS). Using immersive virtual reality environments, we will explore the factors that mediate co-presence as well as compare different (new and old) approaches to tapping into the elusive concept of co-presence. Importantly, as this new project is a collaboration with the quantum communication department, we will look at the effect of coordination latency as well as temporal delays in the communication networks that underpin these interactive technologies.
2) The second project deals with models of digital touch and how touch feels. Here we compare touch from social agents (both human and non-human) with models of social touch using different haptic technologies. We look both at the movement kinematics of different forms of touch (sender) and how these map on to brain/body responses to these touch events and how they feel (subjective reports of the receiver). This position will be advertised in the next few weeks but the criteria specified in the first advert.
For more details please visit the faculty website
March 2024 NEWS
Adriatica 2024
Brain-Body-Environment Interactions and Wellbeing
Pescara, from 3rd to 7th June, 2024
On behalf of the Organizers, Francesca Ferri, Marcello Costantini, Laura Marzetti, and Vittorio Pizzella it is a pleasure to announce Adriatica 2024.
Adriatica 2024 is structured as a study retreat, offering students the opportunity to engage in debates with world-leading experts from different fields: experimental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neurophysiology, physics, neural modelling, computational psychiatry and philosophy.
The central theme of Adriatica 2024 is a comprehensive exploration into the methodologies and theoretical frameworks designed to understand the interplay between brain activity, body signals, and environmental factors, with a special emphasis on enhancing well-being, mental health and social dynamics.
The summer school includes sessions on:
• Interoception and Emotional Well-being
• Predictive coding models of perception and mental health
• Methods for brain-body networks, brain states, mobile brain-body Imaging
• Mechanisms of Environmental Exploration and Sensory Engagement
• Impact of Environmental Rhythms on Perception and Behavior
• Digital Technologies and Embodiment
Students will also participate in a workshop on research ethics and integrity. Additionally, to nurture their inclination toward interdisciplinary collaborations, they will attend a seminar and a hands-on session focusing on transversal skills (Inner Development Goals, IDG) in interdisciplinary research. Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to present their research through poster and oral presentation sessions.
Last but not least, there will be social events and beach outings to provide opportunities for relaxation and community building. Indeed, participants will be accomodated in splendid four-star hotel by the Adriatic Sea (https://www.hotelsealion.com/hotel-4-stelle-montesilvano/en/).
Our esteemed lineup of speakers includes:
· Norman Farb, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada
· Daniele Marinazzo, University of Ghent, Belgium
· Tjeerd Boonstra, Maastricht University, The Nederlands
· Viviana Betti, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
· Joachim Gross, University of Muenster, Germany
· James Kilner, University College of London, UK
· Peggy Series, University of Edinburgh, UK
· Katerina Fotopoulou, University College of London, UK
· Suliann Ben Hamed, Paris (CNRS), France
· Zakaria Djebbara, Aalborg University, Denmark
· Massimiliano Zampini, University of Trento, Italy
· Patric Bach, University of Aberdeen, UK
· Vittorio Gallese, University of Parma, Italy
· Noga Arikha, European University Institute - Florence, Italy
The application deadline is April 8, 2024.
For more information and to secure your spot, please visit Adriatica 2024 website.
More information below. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact adriatica.summerschool@unich.it.
Next Events
The Healing Act of the Dancing Brain
A Neuroscientific Approach to Creative and Performing Arts
Ormskirk (UK), 7th June, 2024
Please see here the preliminary programme
Dance and Dialogues
Dresden & Live on YouTube, 8th and 9th April, 2024
Please see here the preliminary programme. Flyer attached below.
News from the Community
Open positions
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One postdoc position and one research assistant position will soon become available at the Essex Babylab (University of Essex). The post holders will work with the PI Dr. Silvia Rigato, and Co-Is Dr. Maria Laura Filippetti, Dr Carina de Klerk and Dr Eszter Somogyi on an ESRC-funded project entitled “The role of multisensory experience in the development of body representations”. For more details about the positions and application process, please contact Dr Rigato: srigato@essex.ac.uk
On behalf of Professor Francesca Garbarini and The Manibus Lab - University of Turin (Italy), we are pleased to announce:
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An opening call for an ERC-funded postdoc in cognitive neuroscience, focusing on the development of bodily-self representation and multisensory integration in healthy and pathological populations, exploiting behavioural, fNIRS and fMRI techniques. The ideal candidate should have a solid background in fNIRS and/or fMRI and, possibly, previous experience with developmental samples. The position is for one-year contract, starting October 2024, renewable up to 3 years. The salary will be set according to the candidate's experience.
For any questions and to apply for the job, please reach out to hr.manibus@gmail.com, as soon as possible. For more information please visit here. -
An opening call for an ERC-funded PhD in cognitive neuroscience, starting in November 2024, and focusing on the development of bodily-self representation and multisensory integration in healthy and pathological populations, exploiting behavioural, EEG, fNIRS and fMRI techniques. For any questions and to apply for the job, please reach out to hr.manibus@gmail.com as soon as possible. For more information please visit here.
Latest publications
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Gwyther, M.P.D., Lenggenhager, B., Windt, J.M. et al. Examining the association between depersonalisation traits and the bodily self in waking and dreaming. Sci Rep 14, 6107 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56119-w
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Todd J, Plans D, Lee MC, Bird JM, Morelli D, Cunningham A, Ponzo S, Murphy J, Bird G, Aspell JE. Heightened interoception in adults with fibromyalgia. Biol Psychol. 2024 Feb;186:108761. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108761. Epub 2024 Feb 2. PMID: 38309512.
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Möllmann A, Heinrichs N and Herwig A (2024) A conceptual framework on body representations and their relevance for mental disorders. Front. Psychol. 14:1231640. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1231640
March 2023 NEWS
BRNet Spring e-Seminar
Friday 31st March 2023
We are delighted to announce the next spring e-Seminar organized by the BRNet Community.
The seminar Bodies interacting in vision will be presented by Dr. Liuba Papeo.
The session will be hosted online on Friday 31st March 2023 at 13.00 CET (12.00 GMT).
Recording of previous e-Seminars
For those who had not the opportunity to follow the previous e-Seminars, the recordings of the event are available on the BRNet website!
Public Engagement Events
We are please to signpost two public engagement events organized by Jane Aspell’s lab which will take place at this year’s Cambridge Festival:
(1) Why do selves leave bodies? How science explains out of body experiences
Wednesday 22nd March 2023
The talk will explore fascinating case studies of neurological patients who experience profound changes to their sense of self, body and reality: out-of-body experiences (OBEs)
Info on this event can be found here.
(2) Living in a dream: a visual exploration of the self in dreams using AI technology
Friday 31st March and Saturday 1st April 2023
The exhibit will display a variety of artwork based on dream reports, drawing on traditional media as well as some of the latest visual technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).
Info on this event can be found here
Summer School on Bayesian Statistical Analyses
The third edition of the Summer School on Bayesian Statistical Analyses for the Human, Social and Cognitive Sciences has been organized by the NPSY-Lab.VR, at the University of Verona, Department of Human Sciences, and the BASIC-NPSY Research Group.
The goal of this Summer School is to start from the basics to more complex analyses, such as Multilevel Hierarchical Models and Stan programming and it will be held in Verona, from Monday, June 5th to Friday, June 9th, 2023.
Applications from PhD students, post-doc and researchers are open. For more information about the programme, registration and costs, click this link !
Workshop: "Pathologies of Self-awareness"
Thursday 13th April and 14th April 2023
Paris, Salle L382/384, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29 rue d’Ulm
We are pleased to signpost this interesting workshop on Pathologies of Self-awareness: attendance is free but registration is required here.
Workshop organizers:
Alexandre Billon (STL, Université de Lille)
Anna Ciaunica (CFCUL, University of Lisbon)
Anthony David (Kings College, Cambridge)
Jérôme Dokic (Institut Jean Nicod, Paris)
Philip Gerrans (University of Adelaide)
Jesús Ramírez-Bermúdez (INNN, Mexico City)
Frédérique de Vignemont (Institut Jean-Nicod, Paris)
What's new? Feed from the community
Dr. Dorothy Cowie, Cowie lab, Durham, UK: We are pleased to welcome to our group a new Postdoc, Dr. Leif Johannsen, who will be working on children’s perceptions of virtual bodies.
Dr. Valentina Cazzato, Body Image Lab, Liverpool, UK: We are pleased to welcome to our group a visiting PhD student from the University of Trieste - Italy, Niccolò Butti, who will be spending 6 months with us working on a project looking at motor resonance and affective touch.
We are also thrilled to share that Dr. Valentina Cazzato has been awarded an AHRC research networking – UKRI grant to work on a collaborative project which aims at establishing an international network of scholars focused on bridging the contemporary neuroscience of dance performance with therapeutic uses of the arts, and with creative forms of therapies.
Dr. Sofia Tagini, Department of Neurosciences of the University of Turin, IT : We are enthusiastic of introducing telemedicine as a novel research topic in our lab, as part of the NODES project - Industry for Health and Silver Economy, founded by the Italian PNRR. Any proposal of collaboration for applying telemedicine or new technologies (e.g. virtual reality) in the field of body representation or related topics are very welcome!
Recent publications
We are happy to signpost recent papers from our members:
Cowie, D., Gottwald, J.M, Bird L-A., Bremner, A.J. (2022). The role of hand size in body representation: a developmental investigation. Nature Scientific Reports, 12(1):19281.
Crucianelli, L., & Ehrsson, H. H. (2023). The role of the skin in interoception: A neglected organ?. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(1), 224-238.
Keenaghan, S., Polaskova, M., Thurlbeck, S., Kentridge, R.W., Cowie, D. (2022). Alice in Wonderland: The effects of body size and movement on children’s size perception and bodily awareness in virtual reality. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 224.
Mora, L., Gonzalez Alted, C., & Cocchini, G. (2023). The flubbed body: pathological body size representation in personal neglect. Neuropsychologia (pre-print).
Tajadura-Jiménez, A., Crucianelli, L., Zheng, R., Cheng, C., Ley-Flores, J., Borda-Más, M., ... & Fotopoulou, A. (2022). Body weight distortions in an auditory-driven body illusion in subclinical and clinical eating disorders. Nature Scientific Reports, 12(1), 20031.
January 2023 NEWS
Updates on BRNet 5 workshop 2023
After the successful return of an 'in-person' edition last year in Sion, we are pleased to announce that the fifth Body Representation Network (BRNet) workshop is due to take place in the nice and sunny Palma de Mallorca on Friday 15th September 2023.
Recent publications
We are happy to signpost two recent papers from our members
Todd, J., Swami, V., Aspell, J.E., Furnham, A., Horne, G. and Stieger, S. (2022) 'Are Some Interoceptive Sensibility Components More Central than Others? Using Item Pool Visualisation to Understand the Psychometric Representation of Interoception', PlosOne, 17(12), e0277894
Tagini, S., Bastoni, I., Villa, V., Mendolicchio, L., Castelnuovo, G., Mauro, A., & Scarpina, F. (2023). 'Affective touch in anorexia nervosa: Exploring the role of social anhedonia and lifespan experiences', Journal of Affective Disorders, 324, 607-615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.12.137.