A Current Framework of Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Transgender Experiences of Self and Body

Self-recognition and body representations are two of several neurocognitive mechanisms underlying self-awareness and personal identity. Transgender individuals form unique body representations when undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and gender-affirming surgeries. Their development of long-term body representations and self-perceptions function alongside varying sense perceptions that differ from cisgender individuals’ self-recognition scores. The current review aims to explore and interpret recent studies of own-body perception in transgender individuals throughout the process of medical intervention to treat gender dysphoria through a neurocognitive framework, with a particular emphasis on predictive coding. This discussion explores cognitive, social, and neurological processes to understand this unique experience and indicates future research directions to fill current gaps in literature.