Between body and consciousness: proprioception as a Higher Psychological Function in the cultural-historical perspective – a literature review

Abstract

This article presents a literature review on the concept of proprioception from the perspective of Cultural-Historical Psychology (CHP), seeking to understand how this function—widely studied in the physiological and neuroscientific fields—can be conceived as a voluntary and mediated psychological process. Grounded in the assumptions of Vygotsky and Luria, the study begins with the understanding that the body is not merely a biological substrate, but a locus for the constitution of consciousness and the origin of Higher Psychological Functions (HPFs). Thus, investigating proprioception through the lens of CHP implies repositioning the body at the center of human constitution, articulating sensation, perception, and consciousness. The literature review followed the PRISMA protocol, with searches conducted in the SciELO and Redalyc databases between 2000 and 2024. After the selection process and the reading of titles, abstracts, and full texts, only three articles demonstrated an effective—though partial—connection between proprioception and CHP assumptions. A predominance of studies addressing proprioception from physiological or neurophenomenological perspectives was identified, even when Luria is cited, without integrating social mediation, cultural genesis, or the interfunctional nature of HPFs. The absence of works that directly articulate proprioception and CHP reveals a significant theoretical–methodological gap. The analysis of the selected studies allowed us to understand that proprioception, although grounded in sensory processes, can be conceived within CHP as a psychological function that develops through internalization, cultural mediation, and voluntary activity. From this perspective, sensation, perception, and consciousness form an integrated system that enables individuals to act intentionally in the world. It is concluded that the literature lacks formulations that consider the body as an epistemological principle and as the historical matrix of consciousness, indicating the need to deepen investigations that articulate body, culture, and human constitution within the cultural-historical approach.