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de Vignemont F, Farnè A. Peripersonal space: why so last-second? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230159. [PMID: 39155714 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
A vast range of neurophysiological, neuropsychological and behavioural results in monkeys and humans have shown that the immediate surroundings of the body, also known as peripersonal space (PPS), are processed in a unique way. Three roles have been ascribed to PPS mechanisms: to react to threats, to avoid obstacles and to act on objects. However, in many circumstances, one does not wait for objects or agents to enter PPS to plan these behaviours. Typically, one has more chances to survive if one starts running away from the lion when one sees it in the distance than if it is a few steps away. PPS makes sense in shortsighted creatures but we are not such creatures. The crucial question is thus twofold: (i) why are these adaptive processes triggered only at the last second or even milliseconds? And (ii) what is their exact contribution, especially for defensive and navigational behaviours? Here, we propose that PPS mechanisms correspond to a plan B, useful in unpredictable situations or when other anticipatory mechanisms have failed. Furthermore, we argue that there are energetic, cognitive and behavioural costs to PPS mechanisms, which explain why this plan B is triggered only at the last second. This article is part of the theme issue 'Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- Impact Team of the Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre INSERM U1028 CNRS UMR5292 University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 , Lyon, France
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2
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de Wit MM, Faseyitan O, Coslett HB. Always expect the unexpected: eye position modulates visual cortex excitability in a stimulus-free environment. J Neurophysiol 2024; 131:937-944. [PMID: 38568480 PMCID: PMC11383376 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00169.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Stimuli that potentially require a rapid defensive or avoidance action can appear from the periphery at any time in natural environments. de Wit et al. (Cortex 127: 120-130, 2020) recently reported novel evidence suggestive of a fundamental neural mechanism that allows organisms to effectively deal with such situations. In the absence of any task, motor cortex excitability was found to be greater whenever gaze was directed away from either hand. If modulation of cortical excitability as a function of gaze location is a fundamental principle of brain organization, then one would expect its operation to be present outside of motor cortex, including brain regions involved in perception. To test this hypothesis, we applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the right lateral occipital lobe while participants directed their eyes to the left, straight-ahead, or to the right, and reported the presence or absence of a phosphene. No external stimuli were presented. Cortical excitability as reflected by the proportion of trials on which phosphenes were elicited from stimulation of the right visual cortex was greater with eyes deviated to the right as compared with the left. In conjunction with our previous findings of change in motor cortex excitability when gaze and effector are not aligned, this eye position-driven change in visual cortex excitability presumably serves to facilitate the detection of stimuli and subsequent readiness to act in nonfoveated regions of space. The existence of this brain-wide mechanism has clear adaptive value given the unpredictable nature of natural environments in which human beings are situated and have evolved.NEW & NOTEWORTHY For many complex tasks, humans focus attention on the site relevant to the task at hand. Humans evolved and live in dangerous environments, however, in which threats arise from outside the attended site; this fact necessitates a process by which the periphery is monitored. Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we demonstrated for the first time that eye position modulates visual cortex excitability. We argue that this underlies at least in part what we term "surveillance attention."
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu M de Wit
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Olufunsho Faseyitan
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - H Branch Coslett
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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3
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Bassolino M, Franza M, Guanziroli E, Sorrentino G, Canzoneri E, Colombo M, Crema A, Bertoni T, Mastria G, Vissani M, Sokolov AA, Micera S, Molteni F, Blanke O, Serino A. Body and peripersonal space representations in chronic stroke patients with upper limb motor deficits. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac179. [PMID: 35950092 PMCID: PMC9356734 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The continuous stream of multisensory information between the brain and the body during body–environment interactions is crucial to maintain the updated representation of the perceived dimensions of body parts (metric body representation) and the space around the body (the peripersonal space). Such flow of multisensory signals is often limited by upper limb sensorimotor deficits after stroke. This would suggest the presence of systematic distortions of metric body representation and peripersonal space in chronic patients with persistent sensorimotor deficits. We assessed metric body representation and peripersonal space representation in 60 chronic stroke patients with unilateral upper limb motor deficits, in comparison with age-matched healthy controls. We also administered a questionnaire capturing explicit feelings towards the affected limb. These novel measures were analysed with respect to patients’ clinical profiles and brain lesions to investigate the neural and functional origin of putative deficits. Stroke patients showed distortions in metric body representation of the affected limb, characterized by an underestimation of the arm length and an alteration of the arm global shape. A descriptive lesion analysis (subtraction analysis) suggests that these distortions may be more frequently associated with lesions involving the superior corona radiata and the superior frontal gyrus. Peripersonal space representation was also altered, with reduced multisensory facilitation for stimuli presented around the affected limb. These deficits were more common in patients reporting pain during motion. Explorative lesion analyses (subtraction analysis, disconnection maps) suggest that the peripersonal space distortions would be more frequently associated with lesions involving the parietal operculum and white matter frontoparietal connections. Moreover, patients reported altered feelings towards the affected limb, which were associated with right brain damage, proprioceptive deficits and a lower cognitive profile. These results reveal implicit and explicit distortions involving metric body representation, peripersonal space representation and the perception of the affected limb in chronic stroke patients. These findings might have important clinical implications for the longitudinal monitoring and the treatments of often-neglected deficits in body perception and representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Bassolino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), MySpace Lab , Lausanne 1011 , Switzerland
- Institute of Health, School of Health Sciences, HES-SO Valais-Wallis , Sion 1950 , Switzerland
| | - Matteo Franza
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
| | - Eleonora Guanziroli
- Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce Hospital Como , Costa Masnaga 23845 , Italy
| | - Giuliana Sorrentino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
| | - Elisa Canzoneri
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
| | - Maria Colombo
- Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce Hospital Como , Costa Masnaga 23845 , Italy
| | - Andrea Crema
- Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering, Centre for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
- AGO Neurotechnologies, Sàrl , Geneva 1201 , Switzerland
| | - Tommaso Bertoni
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), MySpace Lab , Lausanne 1011 , Switzerland
| | - Giulio Mastria
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), MySpace Lab , Lausanne 1011 , Switzerland
| | - Matteo Vissani
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
- The Biorobotics Institute and Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna , Pontedera, Pisa 56025 , Italy
| | - Arseny A Sokolov
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London , London WC1N 3BG , UK
- Service de Neurologie, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) , Lausanne 1011 , Switzerland
| | - Silvestro Micera
- Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering, Centre for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
- The Biorobotics Institute and Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna , Pontedera, Pisa 56025 , Italy
| | - Franco Molteni
- Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce Hospital Como , Costa Masnaga 23845 , Italy
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva Medical School , Geneva 1211 , Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) , Geneva 1202 , Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), MySpace Lab , Lausanne 1011 , Switzerland
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4
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Precision control for a flexible body representation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 134:104401. [PMID: 34736884 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Adaptive body representation requires the continuous integration of multisensory inputs within a flexible 'body model' in the brain. The present review evaluates the idea that this flexibility is augmented by the contextual modulation of sensory processing 'top-down'; which can be described as precision control within predictive coding formulations of Bayesian inference. Specifically, I focus on the proposal that an attenuation of proprioception may facilitate the integration of conflicting visual and proprioceptive bodily cues. Firstly, I review empirical work suggesting that the processing of visual vs proprioceptive body position information can be contextualised 'top-down'; for instance, by adopting specific attentional task sets. Building up on this, I review research showing a similar contextualisation of visual vs proprioceptive information processing in the rubber hand illusion and in visuomotor adaptation. Together, the reviewed literature suggests that proprioception, despite its indisputable importance for body perception and action control, can be attenuated top-down (through precision control) to facilitate the contextual adaptation of the brain's body model to novel visual feedback.
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5
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Zanini A, Salemme R, Farnè A, Brozzoli C. Associative learning in peripersonal space: fear responses are acquired in hand-centered coordinates. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:864-874. [PMID: 34379522 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00157.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Space coding affects perception of stimuli associated to negative valence: threatening stimuli presented within the peripersonal space (PPS) speed up behavioral responses compared with nonthreatening events. However, it remains unclear whether the association between stimuli and their negative valence is acquired in a body part-centered reference system, a main feature of the PPS coding. Here we test the hypothesis that associative learning takes place in hand-centered coordinates and can therefore remap according to hand displacement. In two experiments, we used a Pavlovian fear-learning paradigm to associate a visual stimulus [light circle, the conditioned stimulus (CS)] with an aversive stimulus (electrocutaneous shock) applied on the right hand only when the CS was displayed close (CS+) but when not far from it (CS-). Measuring the skin conductance response (SCR), we observed successful fear conditioning, with increased anticipatory fear responses associated with CS+. Crucially, experiment I showed a remapping of these responses following hand displacement, with a generalization to both types of CS. Experiment II corroborated and further extended our findings by ruling out the novelty of the experimental context as a driving factor of such modulations. Indeed, fear responses were present only for stimuli within the PPS but not for new stimuli displayed outside the PPS. By revealing a hand-centered (re)mapping of the conditioning effect, these findings indicate that associative learning can arise in hand-centered coordinates. They further suggest that the threatening valence of an object also depends on its basic spatial relationship with our body.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Associative fear learning takes place in hand-centered coordinates. Using a Pavlovian fear-learning paradigm, we show that the anticipatory skin conductance response indicating the association between the negative value and an initially neutral stimulus is acquired and then remapped in space when the stimulated body part moves to a different position. These results demonstrate the relationship between the representation of peripersonal space and the encoding of threatening stimuli. Hypotheses concerning the underlying neural network are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Zanini
- Impact-Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, France.,University Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon, France
| | - R Salemme
- Impact-Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, France.,University Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon, France.,Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion-Mouvement et Handicap, Lyon, France
| | - A Farnè
- Impact-Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, France.,University Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon, France.,Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion-Mouvement et Handicap, Lyon, France.,Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - C Brozzoli
- Impact-Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon, France.,University Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon, France.,Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion-Mouvement et Handicap, Lyon, France.,Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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6
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Allocation of attention in 3D space is adaptively modulated by relative position of target and distractor stimuli. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:1063-1073. [PMID: 31773511 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-019-01878-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Allocation of attention across different depth planes is a prerequisite for visual selection in a three-dimensional environment. Previous research showed that participants successfully used stereoscopic depth information to focus their attention. This, however, does not mean that salient information from other depth planes is completely neglected. The present study investigated the question of whether competing visual information is differentially processed when displayed in a single depth plane or across two different depth planes. Moreover, it was of interest whether potential effects were further modulated by the items' relative spatial position (near or far). In three experiments participants performed a variant of the additional singleton paradigm. Targets were defined by stereoscopic depth information and as such appeared either in a near or far depth plane. Distractor stimuli were displayed in the same or in the opposed depth plane. The results consistently showed that visual selection was slower when target and distractor coincided within the same depth plane. There was no general advantage for targets presented in near or far depth planes. However, differential effects of target depth plane and the target-distractor relation were observed. Selection of near targets was more affected by distractors within the same depth plane while far targets were identified more slowly when the amount of information in closer depth planes increased. While attentional resources could not be exclusively centered to a distinct depth plane, the allocation of attention might be organized along an egocentric gradient through space and varies with the organization of the visual surrounding.
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7
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Limanowski J, Litvak V, Friston K. Cortical beta oscillations reflect the contextual gating of visual action feedback. Neuroimage 2020; 222:117267. [PMID: 32818621 PMCID: PMC7779369 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 08/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
We decouple seen and felt hand postures during action via virtual reality. Vision of the hand is either task-relevant or a distractor. Task-relevance of vision is reflected by in- or decreases of occipital beta power. DCM suggests underlying changes in cortical (visual) excitability. Occipital beta may indicate the contextual gating of visual action feedback.
In sensorimotor integration, the brain needs to decide how its predictions should accommodate novel evidence by ‘gating’ sensory data depending on the current context. Here, we examined the oscillatory correlates of this process by recording magnetoencephalography (MEG) data during a new task requiring action under intersensory conflict. We used virtual reality to decouple visual (virtual) and proprioceptive (real) hand postures during a task in which the phase of grasping movements tracked a target (in either modality). Thus, we rendered visual information either task-relevant or a (to-be-ignored) distractor. Under visuo-proprioceptive incongruence, occipital beta power decreased (relative to congruence) when vision was task-relevant but increased when it had to be ignored. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) revealed that this interaction was best explained by diametrical, task-dependent changes in visual gain. These results suggest a crucial role for beta oscillations in the contextual gating (i.e., gain or precision control) of visual vs proprioceptive action feedback, depending on current behavioral demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Limanowski
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Vladimir Litvak
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
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8
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Candini M, di Pellegrino G, Frassinetti F. The plasticity of the interpersonal space in autism spectrum disorder. Neuropsychologia 2020; 147:107589. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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9
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de Wit MM, Faseyitan O, Coslett HB. Ever-ready for action: Spatial effects on motor system excitability. Cortex 2020; 127:120-130. [PMID: 32172026 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Revised: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Modulation of excitability in the motor system can be observed before overt movements but also in response to covert invitations to act. We asked whether such changes can be induced in the absence of even covert motor instructions, namely, as a function of the location of the hand with reference to the body. Participants received single-pulse TMS over the motor cortex while they placed their contralateral hand (right hand in Experiment 1, left hand in Experiment 2) to the right or left of their body midline, and looked either at or away from their hand. In both experiments, greater excitability was observed when gaze was directed to the right. This finding is interpreted as a consequence of left brain lateralization of motor attention. Contrary to our expectations, we furthermore consistently observed greater excitability when gaze was directed away from the hand. To account for this finding, we introduce the concept of "surveillance attention" which, we speculate, modulates cortical gain, and thereby cortical excitability. Its function is to increase readiness to act in non-foveated regions of space. Such a process confers an advantage in environments, like those in which humans evolved, in which threatening stimuli may appear unexpectedly, and at any time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Olufunsho Faseyitan
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - H Branch Coslett
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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10
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Bamford LE, Klassen NR, Karl JM. Faster recognition of graspable targets defined by orientation in a visual search task. Exp Brain Res 2020; 238:905-916. [PMID: 32170332 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-05769-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Peri-hand space is the area surrounding the hand. Objects within this space may be subject to increased visuospatial perception, increased attentional prioritization, and slower attentional disengagement compared to more distal objects. This may result from kinesthetic and visual feedback about the location of the hand that projects from the reach and grasp networks of the dorsal visual stream back to occipital visual areas, which in turn, refines cortical visual processing that can subsequently guide skilled motor actions. Thus, we hypothesized that visual stimuli that afford action, which are known to potentiate activity in the dorsal visual stream, would be associated with greater alterations in visual processing when presented near the hand. To test this, participants held their right hand near or far from a touchscreen that presented a visual array containing a single target object that differed from 11 distractor objects by orientation only. The target objects and their accompanying distractors either strongly afforded grasping or did not. Participants identified the target among the distractors by reaching out and touching it with their left index finger while eye-tracking was used to measure visual search times, target recognition times, and search accuracy. The results failed to support the theory of enhanced visual processing of graspable objects near the hand as participants were faster at recognizing graspable compared to non-graspable targets, regardless of the position of the right hand. The results are discussed in relation to the idea that, in addition to potentiating appropriate motor responses, object affordances may also potentiate early visual processes necessary for object recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay E Bamford
- Department of Psychology, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada.
| | - Nikola R Klassen
- Department of Psychology, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada
| | - Jenni M Karl
- Department of Psychology, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada
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11
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Fossataro C, Tieri G, Grollero D, Bruno V, Garbarini F. Hand blink reflex in virtual reality: The role of vision and proprioception in modulating defensive responses. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 51:937-951. [PMID: 31630450 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 09/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Our research focused on the role of vision and proprioception in modulating a defensive reflex (hand blink reflex, HBR) whose magnitude is enhanced when the threatened hand is inside the peripersonal space of the face. We capitalized on virtual reality, which allows dissociating vision and proprioception by presenting a virtual limb in congruent/incongruent positions with respect to the participants' limb. In experiment 1, participants placed their own stimulated hand in far/near positions with respect to their face (postural manipulation task), while observing a virtual empty scenario. Vision was not informative, but the HBR was significantly enhanced in near compared with far position, suggesting that proprioception is sufficient for the HBR modulation to occur. In experiment 2, participants did not perform the postural manipulation but they (passively) observed the avatar's virtual limb performing it. Proprioceptive signals were not informative, but the HBR was significantly enhanced when the observed virtual limb was near to the face, suggesting that visual information plays a role in modulating the HBR. In experiment 3, both participants and avatar performed the postural manipulation, either congruently (both of them far/near) or incongruently (one of them far, the other near). The HBR modulation was present only in congruent conditions. In incongruent conditions, the conflict between vision and proprioception confounded the system, abolishing the difference between far and near positions. Taken together, these findings promote the view that observing a virtual limb modulates the HBR, providing also new evidence on the role of vision and proprioception in modulating this subcortical reflex.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gaetano Tieri
- IRCCS, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Virtual Reality Lab, University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Demetrio Grollero
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.,MoMi Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Valentina Bruno
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.,Neuroscience Institute of Turin, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
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12
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Rocca R, Wallentin M, Vesper C, Tylén K. This is for you: Social modulations of proximal vs. distal space in collaborative interaction. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14967. [PMID: 31628367 PMCID: PMC6802403 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51134-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Human spatial representations are shaped by affordances for action offered by the environment. A prototypical example is the organization of space into peripersonal (within reach) and extrapersonal (outside reach) regions, mirrored by proximal (this/here) and distal (that/there) linguistic expressions. The peri-/extrapersonal distinction has been widely investigated in individual contexts, but little is known about how spatial representations are modulated by interaction with other people. Is near/far coding of space dynamically adapted to the position of a partner when space, objects, and action goals are shared? Over two preregistered experiments based on a novel interactive paradigm, we show that, in individual and social contexts involving no direct collaboration, linguistic coding of locations as proximal or distal depends on their distance from the speaker's hand. In contrast, in the context of collaborative interactions involving turn-taking and role reversal, proximal space is shifted towards the partner, and linguistic coding of near space ('this' / 'here') is remapped onto the partner's action space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Rocca
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Mikkel Wallentin
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cordula Vesper
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kristian Tylén
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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13
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Patané I, Cardinali L, Salemme R, Pavani F, Farnè A, Brozzoli C. Action Planning Modulates Peripersonal Space. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 31:1141-1154. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Peripersonal space is a multisensory representation relying on the processing of tactile and visual stimuli presented on and close to different body parts. The most studied peripersonal space representation is perihand space (PHS), a highly plastic representation modulated following tool use and by the rapid approach of visual objects. Given these properties, PHS may serve different sensorimotor functions, including guidance of voluntary actions such as object grasping. Strong support for this hypothesis would derive from evidence that PHS plastic changes occur before the upcoming movement rather than after its initiation, yet to date, such evidence is scant. Here, we tested whether action-dependent modulation of PHS, behaviorally assessed via visuotactile perception, may occur before an overt movement as early as the action planning phase. To do so, we probed tactile and visuotactile perception at different time points before and during the grasping action. Results showed that visuotactile perception was more strongly affected during the planning phase (250 msec after vision of the target) than during a similarly static but earlier phase (50 msec after vision of the target). Visuotactile interaction was also enhanced at the onset of hand movement, and it further increased during subsequent phases of hand movement. Such a visuotactile interaction featured interference effects during all phases from action planning onward as well as a facilitation effect at the movement onset. These findings reveal that planning to grab an object strengthens the multisensory interaction of visual information from the target and somatosensory information from the hand. Such early updating of the visuotactile interaction reflects multisensory processes supporting motor planning of actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Patané
- INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France
- University of Bologna
- University of Lyon 1
- Hospices Civils de Lyon
| | | | - Romeo Salemme
- INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France
- University of Lyon 1
- Hospices Civils de Lyon
| | | | - Alessandro Farnè
- INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France
- University of Lyon 1
- Hospices Civils de Lyon
- University of Trento
| | - Claudio Brozzoli
- INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France
- University of Lyon 1
- Hospices Civils de Lyon
- Karolinska Institutet
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14
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Senna I, Cardinali L, Farnè A, Brozzoli C. Aim and Plausibility of Action Chains Remap Peripersonal Space. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1681. [PMID: 31379692 PMCID: PMC6652232 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful interaction with objects in the peripersonal space requires that the information relative to current and upcoming positions of our body is continuously monitored and updated with respect to the location of target objects. Voluntary actions, for example, are known to induce an anticipatory remapping of the peri-hand space (PHS, i.e., the space near the acting hand) during the very early stages of the action chain: planning and initiating an object grasp increase the interference exerted by visual stimuli coming from the object on touches delivered to the grasping hand, thus allowing for hand-object position monitoring and guidance. Voluntarily grasping an object, though, is rarely performed in isolation. Grasping a candy, for example, is most typically followed by concatenated secondary action steps (bringing the candy to the mouth and swallowing it) that represent the agent’s ultimate intention (to eat the candy). However, whether and when complex action chains remap the PHS remains unknown, just as whether remapping is conditional to goal achievability (e.g., candy-mouth fit). Here we asked these questions by assessing changes in visuo-tactile interference on the acting hand while participants had to grasp an object serving as a support for an elongated candy, and bring it toward their mouth. Depending on its orientation, the candy could potentially enter the participants’ mouth (plausible goal), or not (implausible goal). We observed increased visuo-tactile interference at relatively late stages of the action chain, after the object had been grasped, and only when the action goal was plausible. These findings suggest that multisensory interactions during action execution depend upon the final aim and plausibility of complex goal-directed actions, and extend our knowledge about the role of peripersonal space in guiding goal-directed voluntary actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Senna
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France.,Department of Applied Cognitive Psychology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Lucilla Cardinali
- Cognition, Motion and Neuroscience Unit, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France.,University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France.,Hospices Civils de Lyon, Mouvement et Handicap & Neuro-Immersion, Lyon, France.,Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Claudio Brozzoli
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon, France.,University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France.,Hospices Civils de Lyon, Mouvement et Handicap & Neuro-Immersion, Lyon, France.,Institutionen för Neurobiologi, Vårdvetenskap och Samhälle, Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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15
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Serino A. Peripersonal space (PPS) as a multisensory interface between the individual and the environment, defining the space of the self. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 99:138-159. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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16
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Somervail R, Bufacchi RJ, Guo Y, Kilintari M, Novembre G, Swapp D, Steed A, Iannetti GD. Movement of environmental threats modifies the relevance of the defensive eye-blink in a spatially-tuned manner. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3661. [PMID: 30842481 PMCID: PMC6403335 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40075-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Subcortical reflexive motor responses are under continuous cortical control to produce the most effective behaviour. For example, the excitability of brainstem circuitry subserving the defensive hand-blink reflex (HBR), a response elicited by intense somatosensory stimuli to the wrist, depends on a number of properties of the eliciting stimulus. These include face-hand proximity, which has allowed the description of an HBR response field around the face (commonly referred to as a defensive peripersonal space, DPPS), as well as stimulus movement and probability of stimulus occurrence. However, the effect of stimulus-independent movements of objects in the environment has not been explored. Here we used virtual reality to test whether and how the HBR-derived DPPS is affected by the presence and movement of threatening objects in the environment. In two experiments conducted on 40 healthy volunteers, we observed that threatening arrows flying towards the participant result in DPPS expansion, an effect directionally-tuned towards the source of the arrows. These results indicate that the excitability of brainstem circuitry subserving the HBR is continuously adjusted, taking into account the movement of environmental objects. Such adjustments fit in a framework where the relevance of defensive actions is continually evaluated, to maximise their survival value.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Somervail
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - R J Bufacchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - Y Guo
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - M Kilintari
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - G Novembre
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - D Swapp
- Department of Computer Science, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - A Steed
- Department of Computer Science, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - G D Iannetti
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK.
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy.
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17
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Candini M, Giuberti V, Santelli E, di Pellegrino G, Frassinetti F. When social and action spaces diverge: A study in children with typical development and autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2019; 23:1687-1698. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361318822504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The space around the body has been defined as action space ( peripersonal space) and a social space ( interpersonal space). Within the current debate about the characteristics of these spaces, here we investigated the functional properties and plasticity of action and social space in developmental age. To these aims, children with typical development and autism spectrum disorders were submitted to Reaching- and Comfort-distance tasks, to assess peripersonal and interpersonal space, respectively. Participants approached a person (confederate) or an object and stopped when they thought they could reach the stimulus (Reaching-distance task), or they felt comfortable with stimulus’ proximity (Comfort-distance task). Both tasks were performed before and after a cooperative tool-use training, in which participant and confederate actively cooperated to reach tokens by using either a long (Experiment 1) or a short (Experiment 2) tool. Results showed that in both groups, peripersonal space extended following long-tool-use but not short-tool-use training. Conversely, in typical development, but not in autism spectrum disorders children, interpersonal space toward confederate reduced following the cooperative tool-use training. These findings reveal that action and social spaces are functionally dissociable both in typical and atypical development, and that action but not social space regulation is intact in children with autism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Giuseppe di Pellegrino
- University of Bologna, Italy
- Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cesena, Italy
| | - Francesca Frassinetti
- University of Bologna, Italy
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Operative Unit for Recovery and Functional Rehabilitation of the Institute of CastelGoffredo (Mantova), Italy
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18
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Bufacchi RJ, Iannetti GD. An Action Field Theory of Peripersonal Space. Trends Cogn Sci 2018; 22:1076-1090. [PMID: 30337061 PMCID: PMC6237614 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Predominant conceptual frameworks often describe peripersonal space (PPS) as a single, distance-based, in-or-out zone within which stimuli elicit enhanced neural and behavioural responses. Here we argue that this intuitive framework is contradicted by neurophysiological and behavioural data. First, PPS-related measures are not binary, but graded with proximity. Second, they are strongly influenced by factors other than proximity, such as walking, tool use, stimulus valence, and social cues. Third, many different PPS-related responses exist, and each can be used to describe a different space. Here, we reconceptualise PPS as a set of graded fields describing behavioural relevance of actions aiming to create or avoid contact between objects and the body. This reconceptualisation incorporates PPS into mainstream theories of action selection and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory J Bufacchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK; Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London, UK
| | - Gian Domenico Iannetti
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK; Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London, UK; Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.
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19
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Blini E, Desoche C, Salemme R, Kabil A, Hadj-Bouziane F, Farnè A. Mind the Depth: Visual Perception of Shapes Is Better in Peripersonal Space. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1868-1877. [PMID: 30285541 PMCID: PMC6238160 DOI: 10.1177/0956797618795679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Closer objects are invariably perceived as bigger than farther ones and are therefore
easier to detect and discriminate. This is so deeply grounded in our daily experience that
no question has been raised as to whether the advantage for near objects depends on other
features (e.g., depth itself). In a series of five experiments (N = 114),
we exploited immersive virtual environments and visual illusions (i.e., Ponzo) to probe
humans’ perceptual abilities in depth and, specifically, in the space closely surrounding
our body, termed peripersonal space. We reversed the natural distance scaling of size in
favor of the farther object, which thus appeared bigger, to demonstrate a persistent
shape-discrimination advantage for close objects. Psychophysical modeling further
suggested a sigmoidal trend for this benefit, mirroring that found for multisensory
estimates of peripersonal space. We argue that depth is a fundamental, yet overlooked,
dimension of human perception and that future studies in vision and perception should be
depth aware.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvio Blini
- 1 Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,2 University of Lyon 1
| | - Clément Desoche
- 3 Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-Immersion Platform, Lyon, France
| | - Romeo Salemme
- 1 Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,3 Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-Immersion Platform, Lyon, France
| | - Alexandre Kabil
- 3 Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-Immersion Platform, Lyon, France
| | - Fadila Hadj-Bouziane
- 1 Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,2 University of Lyon 1
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- 1 Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,2 University of Lyon 1.,3 Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-Immersion Platform, Lyon, France
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20
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Ambron E, White N, Faseyitan O, Kessler SK, Medina J, Coslett HB. Magnifying the View of the Hand Changes Its Cortical Representation. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1098-1107. [PMID: 29668393 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Changes in the perceived size of a body part using magnifying lenses influence tactile perception and pain. We investigated whether the visual magnification of one's hand also influences the motor system, as indexed by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs). In Experiment 1, MEPs were measured while participants gazed at their hand with and without magnification of the hand. MEPs were significantly larger when participants gazed at a magnified image of their hand. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that this effect is specific to the hand that is visually magnified. TMS of the left motor cortex did not induce an increase of MEPs when participants looked at their magnified left hand. Experiment 3 was performed to determine if magnification altered the topography of the cortical representation of the hand. To that end, a 3 × 5 grid centered on the cortical hot spot (cortical location at which a motor threshold is obtained with the lowest level of stimulation) was overlaid on the participant's MRI image, and all 15 sites in the grid were stimulated with and without magnification of the hand. We confirmed the increase in the MEPs at the hot spot with magnification and demonstrated that MEPs significantly increased with magnification at sites up to 16.5 mm from the cortical hot spot. In Experiment 4, we used paired-pulse TMS to measure short-interval intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation. Magnification was associated with an increase in short-interval intracortical inhibition. These experiments demonstrate that the visual magnification of one's hand induces changes in motor cortex excitability and generates a rapid remapping of the cortical representation of the hand that may, at least in part, be mediated by changes in short-interval intracortical inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole White
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
| | | | - Sudha K Kessler
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.,Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
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21
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Limanowski J, Blankenburg F. Posterior parietal cortex evaluates visuoproprioceptive congruence based on brief visual information. Sci Rep 2017; 7:16659. [PMID: 29192256 PMCID: PMC5709509 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16848-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
To represent one’s upper limbs for action, the brain relies on a combined position estimate based on visual and proprioceptive information. Monkey neurophysiology and human brain imaging suggest that the underlying operations are implemented in a network of fronto-parietal and occipitotemporal cortical areas. Recently, a potential hierarchical arrangement of these areas has been proposed, emphasizing the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in early multisensory comparison and integration. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a virtual reality-based setup to briefly (0.5 s) present healthy human participants photorealistic virtual hands, of matching or nonmatching anatomical side, or objects at the same or a different location than their real hidden left or right hand. The inferior parietal lobe (IPL) of the left PPC showed a significant preference for congruent visuoproprioceptive hand position information. Moreover, the left body part-selective extrastriate body area (EBA; functionally localized) significantly increased its coupling with the left IPL during visuoproprioceptive congruence vs. incongruence. Our results suggest that the PPC implements early visuoproprioceptive comparison and integration processes, likely relying on information exchange with the EBA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Limanowski
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. .,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Felix Blankenburg
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Maimon-Mor RO, Johansen-Berg H, Makin TR. Peri-hand space representation in the absence of a hand - Evidence from congenital one-handers. Cortex 2017; 95:169-171. [PMID: 28910669 PMCID: PMC5637313 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Revised: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Roni O Maimon-Mor
- FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford OX39DU, United Kingdom
| | - Heidi Johansen-Berg
- FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford OX39DU, United Kingdom
| | - Tamar R Makin
- FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford OX39DU, United Kingdom; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom.
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23
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Job XE, van Velzen J, de Fockert JW. Grasp preparation modulates early visual processing of size and detection of local/global stimulus features. Cortex 2017; 96:46-58. [PMID: 28961525 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Preparing to grasp objects facilitates visual processing of object location, orientation and size, compared to preparing actions such as pointing. This influence of action on perception reflects mechanisms of selection in visual perception tuned to current action goals, such that action relevant sensory information is prioritized relative to less relevant information. In three experiments, rather than varying movement type (grasp vs point), the magnitude of a prepared movement (power vs precision grasps) was manipulated while visual processing of object size, as well as local/global target detection was measured. Early event-related potentials (ERP) elicited by task-irrelevant visual probes were enhanced for larger probes during power grasp preparation and smaller probes during precision grasp preparation. Local targets were detected faster following precision, relative to power grasp cues. The results demonstrate a direct influence of grasp preparation on sensory processing of size and suggest that the hierarchical dimension of objects may be a relevant perceptual feature for grasp programming. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that preparing different magnitudes of the same basic action has systematic effects on visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier E Job
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom.
| | - José van Velzen
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Jan W de Fockert
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
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24
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Perry CJ, Fallah M. Effector-based attention systems. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1396:56-69. [PMID: 28548458 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2016] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Visual processing is known to be enhanced at the end point of eye movements. Feedback within the oculomotor system has been shown to drive these alterations in visual processing. However, we do not simply view the world; we also reach out and interact using our hands. Consequently, it is not surprising that visual processing has also been shown to be altered in near-hand space. A growing body of work documents a myriad of alterations in near-hand visual processing, with little consensus on the neural underpinnings of the effect of the hand. Since movement of the eyes and hands is governed by parallel frontoparietal networks and since within the oculomotor system feedback from these motor control regions has been shown to drive enhanced visual processing at saccade end points, it is plausible that a similar feedback mechanism is at play in near-hand improvements in visual processing. Here, we compare and contrast oculomotor-driven and hand-driven changes in visual processing and provide support for the hypothesis that feedback within the reaching and grasping systems enhances visual processing near the hand in a novel way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn J Perry
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Mazyar Fallah
- School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Canada.,Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Canada.,Canadian Action and Perception Network, Toronto, Canada.,VISTA: Vision Science to Application, York University, Toronto, Canada
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25
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Bufacchi RJ. Approaching threatening stimuli cause an expansion of defensive peripersonal space. J Neurophysiol 2017; 118:1927-1930. [PMID: 28539400 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00316.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Revised: 05/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
When sudden environmental stimuli signaling threat occur in the portion of space surrounding the body (defensive peripersonal space), defensive responses are enhanced. Recently Bisio et al. (Bisio A, Garbarini F, Biggio M, Fossataro C, Ruggeri P, Bove M. J Neurosci 37: 2415-2424, 2017) showed that a marker of defensive peripersonal space, the defensive hand-blink reflex, is modulated by the motion of the eliciting threatening stimulus. These results can be parsimoniously explained by the continuous monitoring of environmental threats, resulting in an expansion of defensive peripersonal space when threatening stimuli approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Bufacchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom; and .,Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and EXperimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London, United Kingdom
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26
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Limanowski J, Kirilina E, Blankenburg F. Neuronal correlates of continuous manual tracking under varying visual movement feedback in a virtual reality environment. Neuroimage 2016; 146:81-89. [PMID: 27845254 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 11/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
To accurately guide one's actions online, the brain predicts sensory action feedback ahead of time based on internal models, which can be updated by sensory prediction errors. The underlying operations can be experimentally investigated in sensorimotor adaptation tasks, in which moving under perturbed sensory action feedback requires internal model updates. Here we altered healthy participants' visual hand movement feedback in a virtual reality setup, while assessing brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants tracked a continually moving virtual target object with a photorealistic, three-dimensional (3D) virtual hand controlled online via a data glove. During the continuous tracking task, the virtual hand's movements (i.e., visual movement feedback) were repeatedly periodically delayed, which participants had to compensate for to maintain accurate tracking. This realistic task design allowed us to simultaneously investigate processes likely operating at several levels of the brain's motor control hierarchy. FMRI revealed that the length of visual feedback delay was parametrically reflected by activity in the inferior parietal cortex and posterior temporal cortex. Unpredicted changes in visuomotor mapping (at transitions from synchronous to delayed visual feedback periods or vice versa) activated biological motion-sensitive regions in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC). Activity in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), focused on the contralateral anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), correlated with tracking error, whereby this correlation was stronger in participants with higher tracking performance. Our results are in line with recent proposals of a wide-spread cortical motor control hierarchy, where temporoparietal regions seem to evaluate visuomotor congruence and thus possibly ground a self-attribution of movements, the LOTC likely processes early visual prediction errors, and the aIPS computes action goal errors and possibly corresponding motor corrections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Limanowski
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Evgeniya Kirilina
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Felix Blankenburg
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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27
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Abstract
For many tasks such as retrieving a previously viewed object, an observer must form a representation of the world at one location and use it at another. A world-based three-dimensional reconstruction of the scene built up from visual information would fulfil this requirement, something computer vision now achieves with great speed and accuracy. However, I argue that it is neither easy nor necessary for the brain to do this. I discuss biologically plausible alternatives, including the possibility of avoiding three-dimensional coordinate frames such as ego-centric and world-based representations. For example, the distance, slant and local shape of surfaces dictate the propensity of visual features to move in the image with respect to one another as the observer's perspective changes (through movement or binocular viewing). Such propensities can be stored without the need for three-dimensional reference frames. The problem of representing a stable scene in the face of continual head and eye movements is an appropriate starting place for understanding the goal of three-dimensional vision, more so, I argue, than the case of a static binocular observer.This article is part of the themed issue 'Vision in our three-dimensional world'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Glennerster
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 7BE, UK
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28
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Noel JP, Lukowska M, Wallace M, Serino A. Multisensory simultaneity judgment and proximity to the body. J Vis 2016; 16:21. [PMID: 26891828 PMCID: PMC4777235 DOI: 10.1167/16.3.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The integration of information across different sensory modalities is known to be dependent upon the statistical characteristics of the stimuli to be combined. For example, the spatial and temporal proximity of stimuli are important determinants with stimuli that are close in space and time being more likely to be bound. These multisensory interactions occur not only for singular points in space/time, but over “windows” of space and time that likely relate to the ecological statistics of real-world stimuli. Relatedly, human psychophysical work has demonstrated that individuals are highly prone to judge multisensory stimuli as co-occurring over a wide range of time—a so-called simultaneity window (SW). Similarly, there exists a spatial representation of peripersonal space (PPS) surrounding the body in which stimuli related to the body and to external events occurring near the body are highly likely to be jointly processed. In the current study, we sought to examine the interaction between these temporal and spatial dimensions of multisensory representation by measuring the SW for audiovisual stimuli through proximal–distal space (i.e., PPS and extrapersonal space). Results demonstrate that the audiovisual SWs within PPS are larger than outside PPS. In addition, we suggest that this effect is likely due to an automatic and additional computation of these multisensory events in a body-centered reference frame. We discuss the current findings in terms of the spatiotemporal constraints of multisensory interactions and the implication of distinct reference frames on this process.
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29
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Martel M, Cardinali L, Roy AC, Farnè A. Tool-use: An open window into body representation and its plasticity. Cogn Neuropsychol 2016; 33:82-101. [PMID: 27315277 PMCID: PMC4975077 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2016.1167678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2015] [Revised: 02/13/2016] [Accepted: 03/15/2016] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Over the last decades, scientists have questioned the origin of the exquisite human mastery of tools. Seminal studies in monkeys, healthy participants and brain-damaged patients have primarily focused on the plastic changes that tool-use induces on spatial representations. More recently, we focused on the modifications tool-use must exert on the sensorimotor system and highlighted plastic changes at the level of the body representation used by the brain to control our movements, i.e., the Body Schema. Evidence is emerging for tool-use to affect also more visually and conceptually based representations of the body, such as the Body Image. Here we offer a critical review of the way different tool-use paradigms have been, and should be, used to try disentangling the critical features that are responsible for tool incorporation into different body representations. We will conclude that tool-use may offer a very valuable means to investigate high-order body representations and their plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Martel
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage, CNRS UMR 5596, Lyon69007, France
- University of Lyon, Lyon69000, France
| | - Lucilla Cardinali
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Alice C. Roy
- Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage, CNRS UMR 5596, Lyon69007, France
- University of Lyon, Lyon69000, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- University of Lyon, Lyon69000, France
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition team (ImpAct), Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon69000, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Mouvement et Handicap & Neuro-immersion, Lyon69000, France
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30
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van der Stoep N, Serino A, Farnè A, Di Luca M, Spence C. Depth: the Forgotten Dimension in Multisensory Research. Multisens Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The last quarter of a century has seen a dramatic rise of interest in the spatial constraints on multisensory integration. However, until recently, the majority of this research has investigated integration in the space directly in front of the observer. The space around us, however, extends in three spatial dimensions in the front and to the rear beyond such a limited area. The question to be addressed in this review concerns whether multisensory integration operates according to the same rules throughout the whole of three-dimensional space. The results reviewed here not only show that the space around us seems to be divided into distinct functional regions, but they also suggest that multisensory interactions are modulated by the region of space in which stimuli happen to be presented. We highlight a number of key limitations with previous research in this area, including: (1) The focus on only a very narrow region of two-dimensional space in front of the observer; (2) the use of static stimuli in most research; (3) the study of observers who themselves have been mostly static; and (4) the study of isolated observers. All of these factors may change the way in which the senses interact at any given distance, as can the emotional state/personality of the observer. In summarizing these salient issues, we hope to encourage researchers to consider these factors in their own research in order to gain a better understanding of the spatial constraints on multisensory integration as they affect us in our everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. van der Stoep
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - A. Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A. Farnè
- ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, 69000 Lyon, France
| | - M. Di Luca
- School of Psychology, CNCR, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - C. Spence
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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31
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Blanke O, Slater M, Serino A. Behavioral, Neural, and Computational Principles of Bodily Self-Consciousness. Neuron 2015; 88:145-66. [PMID: 26447578 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 394] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 9 Chemin des Mines, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University of Geneva, 24 rue Micheli-du-Crest, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Mel Slater
- ICREA-University of Barcelona, Campus de Mundet, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Computer Science, University College London, Malet Place Engineering Building, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Andrea Serino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 9 Chemin des Mines, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland.
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32
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Cléry J, Guipponi O, Wardak C, Ben Hamed S. Neuronal bases of peripersonal and extrapersonal spaces, their plasticity and their dynamics: Knowns and unknowns. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:313-26. [PMID: 25447371 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Revised: 10/09/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justine Cléry
- Centre de Neuroscience Cognitive, UMR5229, CNRS-Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron, France
| | - Olivier Guipponi
- Centre de Neuroscience Cognitive, UMR5229, CNRS-Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron, France
| | - Claire Wardak
- Centre de Neuroscience Cognitive, UMR5229, CNRS-Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron, France
| | - Suliann Ben Hamed
- Centre de Neuroscience Cognitive, UMR5229, CNRS-Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron, France.
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33
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Noel JP, Grivaz P, Marmaroli P, Lissek H, Blanke O, Serino A. Full body action remapping of peripersonal space: The case of walking. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:375-84. [PMID: 25193502 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.08.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Revised: 07/04/2014] [Accepted: 08/24/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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34
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Finisguerra A, Canzoneri E, Serino A, Pozzo T, Bassolino M. Moving sounds within the peripersonal space modulate the motor system. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:421-8. [PMID: 25281311 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.09.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2014] [Revised: 08/29/2014] [Accepted: 09/24/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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35
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Makin TR, Brozzoli C, Cardinali L, Holmes NP, Farnè A. Left or right? Rapid visuomotor coding of hand laterality during motor decisions. Cortex 2015; 64:289-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Revised: 12/01/2014] [Accepted: 12/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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36
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Ishida H, Suzuki K, Grandi LC. Predictive coding accounts of shared representations in parieto-insular networks. Neuropsychologia 2014; 70:442-54. [PMID: 25447372 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2014] [Revised: 10/07/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and inferior parietal cortex (area PFG) in the macaque monkey brain has provided the physiological evidence for direct matching of the intrinsic motor representations of the self and the visual image of the actions of others. The existence of mirror neurons implies that the brain has mechanisms reflecting shared self and other action representations. This may further imply that the neural basis self-body representations may also incorporate components that are shared with other-body representations. It is likely that such a mechanism is also involved in predicting other's touch sensations and emotions. However, the neural basis of shared body representations has remained unclear. Here, we propose a neural basis of body representation of the self and of others in both human and non-human primates. We review a series of behavioral and physiological findings which together paint a picture that the systems underlying such shared representations require integration of conscious exteroception and interoception subserved by a cortical sensory-motor network involving parieto-inner perisylvian circuits (the ventral intraparietal area [VIP]/inferior parietal area [PFG]-secondary somatosensory cortex [SII]/posterior insular cortex [pIC]/anterior insular cortex [aIC]). Based on these findings, we propose a computational mechanism of the shared body representation in the predictive coding (PC) framework. Our mechanism proposes that processes emerging from generative models embedded in these specific neuronal circuits play a pivotal role in distinguishing a self-specific body representation from a shared one. The model successfully accounts for normal and abnormal shared body phenomena such as mirror-touch synesthesia and somatoparaphrenia. In addition, it generates a set of testable experimental predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroaki Ishida
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Brain Center for Social and Motor Cognition (BCSMC), Parma, Italy; Frontal Lobe Function Project, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Keisuke Suzuki
- Sackler Center for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; School of Informatics and Engineering, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Laura Clara Grandi
- Department of Neuroscience, Unit of Physiology, Parma University, Parma, Italy
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37
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Brozzoli C, Ehrsson HH, Farnè A. Multisensory Representation of the Space Near the Hand. Neuroscientist 2013; 20:122-35. [DOI: 10.1177/1073858413511153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
When interacting with objects and other people, the brain needs to locate our limbs and the relevant visual information surrounding them. Studies on monkeys showed that information from different sensory modalities converge at the single cell level within a set of interconnected multisensory frontoparietal areas. It is largely accepted that this network allows for multisensory processing of the space surrounding the body (peripersonal space), whose function has been linked to the sensory guidance of appetitive and defensive movements, and localization of the limbs in space. In the current review, we consider multidisciplinary findings about the processing of the space near the hands in humans and offer a convergent view of its functions and underlying neural mechanisms. We will suggest that evolution has provided the brain with a clever tool for representing visual information around the hand, which takes the hand itself as a reference for the coding of surrounding visual space. We will contend that the hand-centered representation of space, known as perihand space, is a multisensory-motor interface that allows interaction with the objects and other persons around us.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Brozzoli
- Brain, Body and Self Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - H. Henrik Ehrsson
- Brain, Body and Self Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, ImpAct Team, Lyon, France
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38
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Langerak RM, La Mantia CL, Brown LE. Global and local processing near the left and right hands. Front Psychol 2013; 4:793. [PMID: 24194725 PMCID: PMC3810600 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 10/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual targets can be processed more quickly and reliably when a hand is placed near the target. Both unimodal and bimodal representations of hands are largely lateralized to the contralateral hemisphere, and since each hemisphere demonstrates specialized cognitive processing, it is possible that targets appearing near the left hand may be processed differently than targets appearing near the right hand. The purpose of this study was to determine whether visual processing near the left and right hands interacts with hemispheric specialization. We presented hierarchical-letter stimuli (e.g., small characters used as local elements to compose large characters at the global level) near the left or right hands separately and instructed participants to discriminate the presence of target letters (X and O) from non-target letters (T and U) at either the global or local levels as quickly as possible. Targets appeared at either the global or local level of the display, at both levels, or were absent from the display; participants made foot-press responses. When discriminating target presence at the global level, participants responded more quickly to stimuli presented near the left hand than near either the right hand or in the no-hand condition. Hand presence did not influence target discrimination at the local level. Our interpretation is that left-hand presence may help participants discriminate global information, a right hemisphere (RH) process, and that the left hand may influence visual processing in a way that is distinct from the right hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin M Langerak
- Department of Psychology, Trent University Peterborough, ON, Canada
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39
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Suppa A, Li Voti P, Rocchi L, Papazachariadis O, Berardelli A. Early Visuomotor Integration Processes Induce LTP/LTD-Like Plasticity in the Human Motor Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2013; 25:703-12. [PMID: 24057659 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- A Suppa
- IRCCS Neuromed Institute, Pozzilli (IS), Italy
| | - P Li Voti
- IRCCS Neuromed Institute, Pozzilli (IS), Italy
| | - L Rocchi
- Department of Neurology and Psychiatry
| | - O Papazachariadis
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - A Berardelli
- IRCCS Neuromed Institute, Pozzilli (IS), Italy Department of Neurology and Psychiatry
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40
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Brown LE, Goodale MA. A brief review of the role of training in near-tool effects. Front Psychol 2013; 4:576. [PMID: 24027545 PMCID: PMC3759798 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2013] [Accepted: 08/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Research suggests that, like near-hand effects, visual targets appearing near the tip of a hand-held real or virtual tool are treated differently than other targets. This paper reviews neurological and behavioral evidence relevant to near-tool effects and describes how the effect varies with the functional properties of the tool and the knowledge of the participant. In particular, the paper proposes that motor knowledge plays a key role in the appearance of near-tool effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana E Brown
- Department of Psychology, Trent University Peterborough, ON, Canada
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41
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Galeazzi JM, Mender BMW, Paredes M, Tromans JM, Evans BD, Minini L, Stringer SM. A self-organizing model of the visual development of hand-centred representations. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66272. [PMID: 23799086 PMCID: PMC3683017 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2012] [Accepted: 05/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We show how hand-centred visual representations could develop in the primate posterior parietal and premotor cortices during visually guided learning in a self-organizing neural network model. The model incorporates trace learning in the feed-forward synaptic connections between successive neuronal layers. Trace learning encourages neurons to learn to respond to input images that tend to occur close together in time. We assume that sequences of eye movements are performed around individual scenes containing a fixed hand-object configuration. Trace learning will then encourage individual cells to learn to respond to particular hand-object configurations across different retinal locations. The plausibility of this hypothesis is demonstrated in computer simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan M Galeazzi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
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42
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That's near my hand! Parietal and premotor coding of hand-centered space contributes to localization and self-attribution of the hand. J Neurosci 2013; 32:14573-82. [PMID: 23077043 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2660-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to identify and localize our own limbs is crucial for survival. Indeed, the majority of our interactions with objects occur within the space surrounding the hands. In non-human primates, neurons in the posterior parietal and premotor cortices dynamically represent the space near the upper limbs in hand-centered coordinates. Neuronal populations selective for the space near the hand also exist in humans. It is unclear whether these remap the peri-hand representation as the arm is moved in space. Furthermore, no combined neuronal and behavioral data are available about the possible involvement of peri-hand neurons in the perception of the upper limbs in any species. We used fMRI adaptation to demonstrate dynamic hand-centered encoding of space by reporting response suppression in human premotor and posterior parietal cortices to repeated presentations of an object near the hand for different arm postures. Furthermore, we show that such spatial representation is related to changes in body perception, being remapped onto a prosthetic hand if perceived as one's own during an illusion. Interestingly, our results further suggest that peri-hand space remapping in the premotor cortex is most tightly linked to the subjective feeling of ownership of the seen limb, whereas remapping in the posterior parietal cortex closely reflects changes in the position sense of the arm. These findings identify the neural bases for dynamic hand-centered encoding of peripersonal space in humans and provide hitherto missing evidence for the link between the peri-hand representation of space and the perceived self-attribution and position of the upper limb.
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