Is anyone familiar with the psychological concept 'somatic identification or something equivalent?

Question

A psychologist once told me she knew of a psychological quality called "somatic identification" wherein a person can so identify or empathize with another, he/she can actually take on their physiological characteristics. EX. Supposedly, when Robert DeNiro played a man who had been in a coma for 40 years and woke up (in the movie 'Awakenings') a psychologist took his vital signs (B.P, pulse, etc., eyesight) and supposedly they matched the real life person his character was based on. It is supposedly more common in actors and writers for obvious reasons. I am an actor and did an acting exercise where I was 10-years-old in camp and writing a letter to my mother. Afterwards, I looked at what I wrote and the handwriting and vocabulary had changed in ways that resembled how I was then (without my consciously trying) I have also heard and believe (since I have ADHD) that people with ADD or ADHD are more likely to have it. Does anyone know of this 'ability' or something similar to it?

Answer 1

Somatic identification is in fact NOT a psychological concept. It is a biological concept, used to describe the identification of genes in DNA samples. The sameness of Chromosomes. etc. Obviously along the way some people have taken this description and have applied to the syndromes which are described by you. AN interesting analogy, however, not the same thing. Sorry.

Coming back to the incidents which you are describing, such as what happened to Robert Dinero. These things are quite common and do happen. Particularly to the actors who become so engrossed in the character which they are playing. I am sure there may be some sort of scientific explanation to this as well but I doubt it very much if there has been any major research done on this phenomenon yet. I am sure it will make for an interesting subject to pursue someday once we have figured out few other more important things about ourselves as a specie.