Somatosensory Illusions Elicited by Sham Electromagnetic Field Exposure: Experimental Evidence for a Predictive Processing Account of Somatic Symptom Perception

OBJECTIVE According to the predictive processing theory of somatic symptom generation, body sensations are determined by somatosensory input and central nervous predictions about this input. We examined how expectations shape predictions and consequently bodily perceptions in a task eliciting illusory sensations as laboratory analogue of medically unexplained symptoms. METHODS Using the framework of signal detection theory, the influence of sham Wi-Fi on response bias (c) and somatosensory sensitivity (d') for tactile stimuli was examined using the somatic signal detection task (SSDT). A healthy student sample (n = 83) completed the SSDT twice (sham Wi-Fi on/off) in a randomized order after…