Loss of boundaries: the effects of mindfulness on peripersonal space

Peripersonal space (PPS), i.e., the multisensory representation of the space surrounding our bodies, have been found to be highly plastic. The boundaries of the PPS, indeed, can be modulated in many ways, such as by tool-use or during social interactions. As such, PPS has been conceived as a property of the bodily-self representation and the space where the intersubjective interaction occurs. Interestingly the way in which we represent the self and self-other differentiation are central aspects of both the theory and practice of mindfulness meditation (MM), and recent studies have found to be directly shaped by meditation practices. Innovatively, in this study we investigated whether a short session of focused-attention meditation (FAM), as a practice focused on bodily sensations, modulates the extent of the PPS as evidence of the effect of MM on bodily self-representation. A total of 26 non-meditators performed an audio-tactile interaction task, widely used in PPS studies, before and after 15 minutes of an audio-guided FAM. In line with phenomenological reports our study showed that even a short session of FAM modulates the representation of PPS boundaries, providing insight on the effect of mindfulness on representation of bodily self and contributing to the understanding of the mechanism that underlying the way intersubjective interaction occurs.