ERIK LEEMHUIS

PhD Graduate

PhD program:: XXXIV



Thesis title: Body representations and tool embodiment following body-brain disconnection

Body and mind affect each other reciprocally at multiple levels. One condition required to produce any successful, voluntary, and aimed action for the brain is to own sufficiently refined body representations. Moreover, these representations must be constantly updated to meet environmental changes and body needs. Tools are an answer to these requests and may become, at least partially, extensions of our bodies via a process of embodiment. But what happens when the body itself changes or its communication pathways with the brain are severely damaged or completely severed? In this work, I try to offer an overview starting with a review of the literature regarding embodiment, body representations, and the ability to incorporate different tools or devices. The next step will be to comprehend, consistently with actual knowledge, what happens when the body is disconnected from the brain. The two clinical conditions of brachial plexus injury and spinal cord injuries (SCI) will be presented to achieve this goal. The first of the three experimental experiments will highlight how, following the sensorimotor deafferentation of an arm, the body representation of the same limb undergoes an autonomous process of reorganization but contextually can be modulated through targeted external interventions such as body illusions. Subsequently, the relationship between lesion level, body ownership, and interoceptive ability will be evaluated in a group of participants with spinal lesions. The third and final study will provide insights into how using an exoskeleton by patients with spinal cord injury may impact global body representation.

Research products

11573/1726090 - 2024 - Rhythm of the body, rhythm of the brain: exploring the relationship between interoception and time perception through auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)
De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Scuderi, Angelica; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Fens Forum 2024 (Vienna (Austria))
book: Proceedings of the conference of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (Fens Forum 2024) - ()

11573/1726091 - 2024 - Unlocking the Brain's Clock: the effects of transauricular vagus nerve stimulation on time processing
De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Scuderi, Angelica; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: CogSci24 (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
book: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - ()

11573/1725941 - 2024 - Perceived body image in long-term mindfulness practitioners
De Pastina, Riccardo; Leemhuis, Erik; Scuderi, Angelica; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Raffone, Antonino; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: AIP Sperimentale 2024, 30° Congresso annuale (Noto)
book: AIP Sperimentale 2024, 30° Congresso annuale Book of Abstracts - ()

11573/1726111 - 2024 - Modulation of neuropathic pain and tactile perception in spinal cord injury during an exoskeleton training program
Leemhuis, Erik; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Scuderi, Angelica; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Fens Forum 2024 (Wien; Austria)
book: Proceedings of the conference of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (Fens Forum 2024) - ()

11573/1726103 - 2024 - Examining the role of transauricular vagus nerve stimulation in balancing autonomic systems during cognitive tasks
Leemhuis, Erik; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Scuderi, Angelica; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: CogSci 2024 (Rotterdam; The Netherlands)
book: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Societ - ()

11573/1710811 - 2024 - Redefining the Human Body Boundaries: The Impact of Assistive Devices on Body Representation
Scuderi, Angelica; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: 42° European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology (Bressanone, Italia)
book: Atti del 42° European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology - ()

11573/1725531 - 2024 - Know your body by heart: a taVNS study on body awareness
Scuderi, Angelica; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: CogSci 2024 (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
book: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - ()

11573/1725532 - 2024 - Unravelling the role of the insula in apraxia: A systematic review of VLSM studies in stroke patients
Scuderi, Angelica; Favieri, Francesca; Leemhuis, Erik; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: XXX Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Psicologia - Sezione Sperimentale (Noto, Italia)
book: Atti del XXX Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Psicologia - Sezione Sperimentale - ()

11573/1688864 - 2023 - LOST IN TIME: IL LEGAME TRA INTEROCEZIONE E PERCEZIONE DEL TEMPO IN PAZIENTI CON LESIONE AL MIDOLLO SPINALE
De Martino, Maria Luisa; Scuderi, Angelica; Leemhuis, Erik; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: XXIX Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Psicologia - Sezione Sperimentale (Lucca; Italia)
book: Atti del XXIX Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Psicologia - Sezione Sperimentale - ()

11573/1687516 - 2023 - Beyond the wheelchair: how exoskeleton training redefines mobility and somatic sensation for incomplete spinal cord injury patients
De Martino, Maria Luisa; Tranquilli, Sara; Leemhuis, Erik; Scuderi, Angelica; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: 7th European Congress of NeuroRehabilitation (Lyon (FR))
book: ECNR - 2023 - ()

11573/1687348 - 2023 - Embodiment of assistive tools in spinal cord injury: evidence from mental rotation tasks of wheelchairs and exoskeletons
Scuderi, Angelica; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: 7th European Congress of NeuroRehabilitation (Lyon (FR))
book: ECNR - 2023 - ()

11573/1688863 - 2023 - RIDEFINIRE IL CORPO SUPPORTATO DA AUSILI PER LA MOBILITÀ: L'USO DI ESOSCHELETRI E CARROZZINE NELLE ROTAZIONI MENTALI DEI PAZIENTI CON LESIONE MIDOLLARE
Scuderi, Angelica; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: XXIX Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Psicologia - Sezione Sperimentale (Lucca; Italia)
book: Atti del XXIX Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana di Psicologia - Sezione Sperimentale - ()

11573/1664595 - 2022 - An interoceptive perspective of time perception in spinal cord injury
De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Scuderi, Angelica; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Neuroscience 2022 (San Diego, CA)
book: 2022 Neuroscience Meeting Planner - ()

11573/1660140 - 2022 - Ear your heart: transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on heart rate variability in healthy young participants
Forte, Giuseppe; Favieri, Francesca; Leemhuis, Erik; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Giannini, Anna Maria; De Gennaro, Luigi; Casagrande, Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: PEERJ (Corte Madera, CA : PeerJ Inc.) pp. e14447- - issn: 2167-8359 - wos: WOS:000919726400004 (9) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85143195947 (11)

11573/1614425 - 2022 - Exoskeletons for Mobility after Spinal Cord Injury: A Personalized Embodied Approach
Forte, Giuseppe; Leemhuis, Erik; Favieri, Francesca; Casagrande, Maria; Giannini, Anna Maria; De Gennaro, Luigi; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE (Basel: MDPI AG, 2011-) pp. - - issn: 2075-4426 - wos: WOS:000774846300001 (7) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85126430019 (9)

11573/1657018 - 2022 - Integrated Neuroregenerative Techniques for Plasticity of the Injured Spinal Cord
Leemhuis, Erik; Favieri, Francesca; Forte, Giuseppe; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01g Articolo di rassegna (Review)
paper: BIOMEDICINES (Basel: MDPI) pp. 2563- - issn: 2227-9059 - wos: WOS:000872352400001 (3) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85141084198 (4)

11573/1603230 - 2022 - Rethinking the body in the brain after spinal cord injury
Leemhuis, Erik; Giuffrida, Valentina; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Forte, Giuseppe; Pecchinenda, Anna; De Gennaro, Luigi; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE (MDPI Publishing, Basel, Switzerland) pp. - - issn: 2077-0383 - wos: WOS:000747175900001 (12) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85122900242 (14)

11573/1664618 - 2022 - Body representation changes after repeated lower-limb exoskeleton use in patients with a chronic spinal cord injury.
Leemhuis, Erik; Tranquilli, Sara; Scivoletto, Giorgio; De Gennaro, Luigi; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Neuroscience 2022 (San Diego; California, USA)
book: 2022 Neuroscience Meeting Planner - ()

11573/1664592 - 2022 - Rebuilding the body from the inside: interoception and the bodily self following spinal cord injuries
Scuderi, Angelica; De Martino, Maria Luisa; Leemhuis, Erik; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
conference: Neuroscience 2022 (San Diego, CA)
book: 2022 Neuroscience Meeting Planner - ()

11573/1566187 - 2021 - Rebuilding body–brain interaction from the vagal network in spinal cord injuries
De Martino, Maria Luisa; De Bartolo, Mina; Leemhuis, Erik; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: BRAIN SCIENCES (Basel: Molecular Diversity Preservation International) pp. - - issn: 2076-3425 - wos: WOS:000688944300001 (8) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85113525904 (9)

11573/1570744 - 2021 - A therapeutic matrix: virtual reality as a clinical tool for spinal cord injury-induced neuropathic pain
Leemhuis, E.; Giuffrida, V.; Giannini, A. M.; Pazzaglia, M. - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: BRAIN SCIENCES (Basel: Molecular Diversity Preservation International) pp. - - issn: 2076-3425 - wos: WOS:000699351300001 (17) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85115055805 (18)

11573/1496405 - 2021 - Go virtual to get real: virtual reality as a resource for spinal cord treatment
Leemhuis, Erik; Esposito, Rita Maria; Gennaro, Luigi De; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH (Basel: MDPI 2003-) pp. - - issn: 1660-4601 - wos: WOS:000623584800001 (17) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85100797620 (19)

11573/1408638 - 2021 - Loss and beauty: how experts and novices judge paintings with lacunae
Pazzaglia, Mariella; Galli, Giulia; Leemhuis, Erik; Giannini, Anna Maria; Pascucci, Tiziana; Billi, Eliana - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH (Springer Verlag Germany:Tiergartenstrasse 17, D 69121 Heidelberg Germany:011 49 6221 3450, EMAIL: g.braun@springer.de, INTERNET: http://www.springer.de, Fax: 011 49 6221 345229) pp. - - issn: 0340-0727 - wos: WOS:000538364300001 (2) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85086002944 (3)

11573/1408634 - 2020 - Abstraction still holds its feet on the ground
Pazzaglia, Mariella; Leemhuis, Erik - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978-2014.) pp. 40-41 - issn: 0140-525X - wos: WOS:000543056800021 (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85086878831 (0)

11573/1356795 - 2019 - Disconnected body representation: neuroplasticity following spinal cord injury
Leemhuis, Erik; De Gennaro, Luigi; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE (MDPI Publishing, Basel, Switzerland) pp. - - issn: 2077-0383 - wos: WOS:000506640400114 (26) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85082119208 (27)

11573/1225149 - 2019 - The homuncular jigsaw: investigations of phantom limb and body awareness following brachial plexus block or avulsion
Pazzaglia, Mariella; Leemhuis, Erik; Giannini, Anna Maria; Haggard, Patrick - 01g Articolo di rassegna (Review)
paper: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE (MDPI Publishing, Basel, Switzerland) pp. - - issn: 2077-0383 - wos: WOS:000460295400055 (14) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85063483649 (16)

11573/1202694 - 2019 - My hand in my ear: a phantom limb re-induced by the illusion of body ownership in a patient with a brachial plexus lesion
Pazzaglia, Mariella; Scivoletto, Giorgio; Giannini, Anna Maria; Leemhuis, Erik - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH (Springer Verlag Germany:Tiergartenstrasse 17, D 69121 Heidelberg Germany:011 49 6221 3450, EMAIL: g.braun@springer.de, INTERNET: http://www.springer.de, Fax: 011 49 6221 345229) pp. 196-204 - issn: 0340-0727 - wos: WOS:000458338800015 (16) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85057556324 (16)

11573/1037694 - 2017 - Come lo strumento diventa me
Leemhuis, Erik; Pazzaglia, Mariella - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: SISTEMI INTELLIGENTI (Societa Editrice il Mulino Spa:Strada Maggiore 37, I 40125 Bologna Italy:011 39 051 256011, EMAIL: diffusione@mulino.it, INTERNET: http://www.mulino.it, Fax: 011 39 051 256034) pp. 33-56 - issn: 1120-9550 - wos: (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85021066337 (1)

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