Takahiro Higuchi

Tokyo Metropolitan University, University of Würzburg

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Takahiro Higuchi is a leading researcher in cognitive neuroscience, with a primary focus on body ownership, multisensory integration, and motor rehabilitation. His most-cited work, "Voluntary self-touch increases body ownership" (2015, 80 citations), fundamentally advances our understanding of how the brain constructs bodily self-representation. Higuchi demonstrated that voluntary self-touch—a unique multisensory event combining motor commands, tactile feedback, and proprioception—significantly enhances the sense of body ownership. This finding challenges previous models centered solely on passive multisensory integration, revealing the active role of agency in shaping self-perception. In a notable translational achievement, Higuchi also investigates neurorehabilitation, as shown in his study on microstructural white matter changes following gait training with the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) initiated within one week of stroke onset (2020). This work highlights his commitment to bridging fundamental neuroscience with clinical applications, particularly for motor recovery after neurological injury. Higuchi’s research not only deepens theoretical frameworks of bodily awareness but also offers practical insights for developing more effective rehabilitation strategies, making his contributions valuable for both cognitive scientists and clinicians.