Abstract
Scientists have long questioned the origin of the exquisite human mastery of tools. How do we manage controlling a tool in the skillful way humans typically do, that is, as a body-part? Influential theories proposed that efficient tool use relies on the incorporation of the tool into body representations. Therefore, we critically review several tool use paradigms used to identify critical features responsible for incorporating tools in two body representations, Body Schema and Body Image. Considering complementary evidence stemming from behavioral, neuroimaging and neuropsychological findings, we try assessing whether different high-order representations of body morphology are modified when extending our body with tools. We finally refer to current computational models of motor control to offer some novel perspectives on how to provide a more complete theoretical framework to tool use and body representation plasticity.