A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Nature Communications, reveals how rhythmic brain waves known as alpha oscillations help us distinguish between our own body and the external world. The findings offer new insights into how the brain integrates sensory signals to create a coherent sense of bodily self.

What makes you feel that your hand is yours? It might seem obvious, but the brain’s ability to tell self from non-self is a complex process.

Using a combination of behavioral experiments, brain recordings (EEG), brain stimulation, and computational modeling with a total of 106 participants, researchers from Karolinska Institutet investigated how the brain combines visual and tactile signals to create the feeling that a body part belongs to oneself—a phenomenon known as the sense of body ownership.