How culture breaks down the mind-body divide - An interview with Maddalena Canna and Rebecca Seligman

Aug 22, 2026

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This interview explains how culture shapes the relationship between body and mind, drawing on anthropologists Maddalena Canna and Rebecca Seligman’s research. Moving from studies of trance to Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), it shows how sensory and motor symptoms are interpreted through cultural expectations rather than solely through identified physiological causes. The discussion introduces “interoceptive affordance” to connect psychophysiological processes with meaning, challenging strict mind-body divisions and the assumptions behind what counts as normal or pathological. It also highlights how gender, race, and medical categorization affect FND symptomatology, supporting more humanized, participatory approaches to care and investigation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research focus: trance and Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)

Interoceptive affordance and cultural meaning of bodily sensations

Critique of mind-body divide and norms of normal vs abnormal

Gender, race, and medical categorization in symptomatology

Toward participatory, humanized care

How culture breaks down the mind-body divide An interview with Maddalena Canna and Rebecca Seligman by Matthieu Koroma Cite as: Canna, M. , Seligman, R. & Koroma, M. (202 1) . How culture breaks down the mind-body divide. An interview with Maddalena Canna and Rebecca Seligman by Matthieu Koroma. ALIUS Bulletin, 5, 12-27, [https://doi.org/10.34700/mfzk-ve81](https://doi.org/10.34700/mfzk-ve81) Maddalena Canna [maddalena.canna@northwestern.edu](maddalena.canna@northwestern.edu)[ ](maddalena.canna@northwestern.edu)Department of Anthropology and Global Health Program, Northwestern University, USA Rebecca Seligman [r-seligman@northwestern.edu](r-seligman@northwestern.edu) Department of Anthropology and Global Health Program, Northwestern University, USA Matthieu Koroma [matthieu.koroma@uliege.be](matthieu.koroma@uliege.be) Physiology of Cognition lab, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liege, Belgium Abstract In this interview, anthropologists Maddalena Canna and Rebecca Seligman explain their recent research agenda investigating how culture shapes the relationship between the body and mind. After having studied trance, they shift their focus to Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), an illness in which sensory or motor symptoms do not match any identified physiological causes. Their approach relies on a mix of anthropological and psychophysiological methods to unravel the mechanisms by which cultural expectations influence the perception and meaning of bodily sensations, a phenomenon that they call “interoceptive affordance”. The cultural contextualization of psychophysiological processes puts into question our conceptions of the body and mind divide, and what we consider as normal or pathological. By emphasizing how social factors such as gender, race and medical categorization impact the symptomatology of FND, they highlight how anthropological research can lead to a more encompassing and humanized vision of treatment and care that replaces the category of patient with a participatory actor of the scientific investigation of conscious states and their modification. keywords: Functional Neurological Disorder, trance, psychophysiology, interoception, interoceptive affordance, social science, medical ethics Dr. Maddalena Canna is a Postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University and Dr. Rebecca Seligman is an Associate professor of anthropology at Northwestern University. You are both part of the ALIUS research group ALIUS Bulletin n°5 (2021) [aliusresearch.org/bulletin](aliusresearch.org/bulletin) Maddalena Canna and Rebecca Seligman – How culture breaks down 13 the mind-body divide devoted to fostering interdisciplinary research about the diversity of consciousness. What types of conscious phenomena have you been primarily interested in? Could you illustrate how transcultural research has helped you better understand some aspects of consciousness? We both conducted our PhD research on spirit possession; Maddalena Cannaon demonic possession in Nicaragua, and Rebecca Seligman on religious possession in Brazilian Candomblé . Spirit possession has been frequently exoticized, as something exclusively bounded to localized systems of beliefs. Also, it has been medicalized and conflated with a wide array of psychiatric constructs, from hysteria to conversion disorder. We both reacted to these two lines of misconception—exoticization and pathologization—by deconstructing their underlying implicit assumptions. Both exoticization and pathologization of trance and possession rest on interrelated assumptions about the nature of consciousness and the relationship between mind and body. Possession—in whatever form—is a compelling example of how consciousness cannot be reduced to the mind-body binarism dominating Western lay models of health. Studying the complex physiological, emotional and cognitive underpinnings of possession across cultures requires a model of the interplay between mind and body not

FAQs

What research shift do the interviewees describe after studying trance?

They shift from researching trance to investigating Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), where sensory or motor symptoms do not align with identified physiological causes.

What is “interoceptive affordance” in the context of this interview?

It refers to the cultural mechanisms that influence how bodily sensations are perceived and made meaningful, linking psychophysiology with social interpretation.

How does the interview connect culture to the boundary between normal and pathological experiences?

It argues that appraisals of states of consciousness (healthy vs pathological) shape their phenomenological experience, and that the normal/abnormal boundary is continuously negotiated across contexts and within societies.

Aug 22, 2026

Upload by Jacob