Figure 1.

A view of xenomelia research that integrates three approaches. While the crosstalk between neurological (“brain-based”) and psychological (“mind-based”) approaches is commonplace, anthropological, and social studies of bodily appearance and its modifications have been neglected in neuroscience accounts. A social neuroscience view of xenomelia respects the interactions between an individual’s perception of the own body in relation to others’ bodies and as influenced by normative standards. It will also explore the neural correlates of these interactions and investigate, for instance, the constraints of empathy by social norms, or the impact of a person’s preconceptions of a “handicapped body” on brain function and structure.