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Noel JP, Bill J, Ding H, Vastola J, DeAngelis GC, Angelaki DE, Drugowitsch J. Causal inference during closed-loop navigation: parsing of self- and object-motion. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220344. [PMID: 37545300 PMCID: PMC10404925 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0344] [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: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A key computation in building adaptive internal models of the external world is to ascribe sensory signals to their likely cause(s), a process of causal inference (CI). CI is well studied within the framework of two-alternative forced-choice tasks, but less well understood within the cadre of naturalistic action-perception loops. Here, we examine the process of disambiguating retinal motion caused by self- and/or object-motion during closed-loop navigation. First, we derive a normative account specifying how observers ought to intercept hidden and moving targets given their belief about (i) whether retinal motion was caused by the target moving, and (ii) if so, with what velocity. Next, in line with the modelling results, we show that humans report targets as stationary and steer towards their initial rather than final position more often when they are themselves moving, suggesting a putative misattribution of object-motion to the self. Further, we predict that observers should misattribute retinal motion more often: (i) during passive rather than active self-motion (given the lack of an efference copy informing self-motion estimates in the former), and (ii) when targets are presented eccentrically rather than centrally (given that lateral self-motion flow vectors are larger at eccentric locations during forward self-motion). Results support both of these predictions. Lastly, analysis of eye movements show that, while initial saccades toward targets were largely accurate regardless of the self-motion condition, subsequent gaze pursuit was modulated by target velocity during object-only motion, but not during concurrent object- and self-motion. These results demonstrate CI within action-perception loops, and suggest a protracted temporal unfolding of the computations characterizing CI. This article is part of the theme issue 'Decision and control processes in multisensory perception'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Johannes Bill
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Haoran Ding
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - John Vastola
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gregory C. DeAngelis
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14611, USA
| | - Dora E. Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
- Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Jan Drugowitsch
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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2
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Noel JP, Angelaki DE. A theory of autism bridging across levels of description. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:631-641. [PMID: 37183143 PMCID: PMC10330321 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Autism impacts a wide range of behaviors and neural functions. As such, theories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are numerous and span different levels of description, from neurocognitive to molecular. We propose how existent behavioral, computational, algorithmic, and neural accounts of ASD may relate to one another. Specifically, we argue that ASD may be cast as a disorder of causal inference (computational level). This computation relies on marginalization, which is thought to be subserved by divisive normalization (algorithmic level). In turn, divisive normalization may be impaired by excitatory-to-inhibitory imbalances (neural implementation level). We also discuss ASD within similar frameworks, those of predictive coding and circular inference. Together, we hope to motivate work unifying the different accounts of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Dora E Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA; Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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3
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Noel JP, Bill J, Ding H, Vastola J, DeAngelis GC, Angelaki DE, Drugowitsch J. Causal inference during closed-loop navigation: parsing of self- and object-motion. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.27.525974. [PMID: 36778376 PMCID: PMC9915492 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.27.525974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
A key computation in building adaptive internal models of the external world is to ascribe sensory signals to their likely cause(s), a process of Bayesian Causal Inference (CI). CI is well studied within the framework of two-alternative forced-choice tasks, but less well understood within the cadre of naturalistic action-perception loops. Here, we examine the process of disambiguating retinal motion caused by self- and/or object-motion during closed-loop navigation. First, we derive a normative account specifying how observers ought to intercept hidden and moving targets given their belief over (i) whether retinal motion was caused by the target moving, and (ii) if so, with what velocity. Next, in line with the modeling results, we show that humans report targets as stationary and steer toward their initial rather than final position more often when they are themselves moving, suggesting a misattribution of object-motion to the self. Further, we predict that observers should misattribute retinal motion more often: (i) during passive rather than active self-motion (given the lack of an efference copy informing self-motion estimates in the former), and (ii) when targets are presented eccentrically rather than centrally (given that lateral self-motion flow vectors are larger at eccentric locations during forward self-motion). Results confirm both of these predictions. Lastly, analysis of eye-movements show that, while initial saccades toward targets are largely accurate regardless of the self-motion condition, subsequent gaze pursuit was modulated by target velocity during object-only motion, but not during concurrent object- and self-motion. These results demonstrate CI within action-perception loops, and suggest a protracted temporal unfolding of the computations characterizing CI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, NY, United States
| | - Johannes Bill
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Haoran Ding
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, NY, United States
| | - John Vastola
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Gregory C. DeAngelis
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Dora E. Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, NY, United States
- Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York City, NY, United states
| | - Jan Drugowitsch
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
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Fossataro C, Galigani M, Rossi Sebastiano A, Bruno V, Ronga I, Garbarini F. Spatial proximity to others induces plastic changes in the neural representation of the peripersonal space. iScience 2022; 26:105879. [PMID: 36654859 PMCID: PMC9840938 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) is a highly plastic "invisible bubble" surrounding the body whose boundaries are mapped through multisensory integration. Yet, it is unclear how the spatial proximity to others alters PPS boundaries. Across five experiments (N = 80), by recording behavioral and electrophysiological responses to visuo-tactile stimuli, we demonstrate that the proximity to others induces plastic changes in the neural PPS representation. The spatial proximity to someone else's hand shrinks the portion of space within which multisensory responses occur, thus reducing the PPS boundaries. This suggests that PPS representation, built from bodily and multisensory signals, plastically adapts to the presence of conspecifics to define the self-other boundaries, so that what is usually coded as "my space" is recoded as "your space". When the space is shared with conspecifics, it seems adaptive to move the other-space away from the self-space to discriminate whether external events pertain to the self-body or to other-bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Fossataro
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | - Mattia Galigani
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | | | - Valentina Bruno
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- MANIBUS Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin 10123, Italy,Neuroscience Institute of Turin (NIT), Turin 10123, Italy,Corresponding author
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Tootell RBH, Nasiriavanaki Z, Babadi B, Greve DN, Nasr S, Holt DJ. Interdigitated Columnar Representation of Personal Space and Visual Space in Human Parietal Cortex. J Neurosci 2022; 42:9011-9029. [PMID: 36198501 PMCID: PMC9732835 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0516-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Personal space (PS) is the space around the body that people prefer to maintain between themselves and unfamiliar others. Intrusion into personal space evokes discomfort and an urge to move away. Physiologic studies in nonhuman primates suggest that defensive responses to intruding stimuli involve the parietal cortex. We hypothesized that the spatial encoding of interpersonal distance is initially transformed from purely sensory to more egocentric mapping within human parietal cortex. This hypothesis was tested using 7 Tesla (7T) fMRI at high spatial resolution (1.1 mm isotropic), in seven subjects (four females, three males). In response to visual stimuli presented at a range of virtual distances, we found two categories of distance encoding in two corresponding radially-extending columns of activity within parietal cortex. One set of columns (P columns) responded selectively to moving and stationary face images presented at virtual distances that were nearer (but not farther) than each subject's behaviorally-defined personal space boundary. In most P columns, BOLD response amplitudes increased monotonically and nonlinearly with increasing virtual face proximity. In the remaining P columns, BOLD responses decreased with increasing proximity. A second set of parietal columns (D columns) responded selectively to disparity-based distance cues (near or far) in random dot stimuli, similar to disparity-selective columns described previously in occipital cortex. Critically, in parietal cortex, P columns were topographically interdigitated (nonoverlapping) with D columns. These results suggest that visual spatial information is transformed from visual to body-centered (or person-centered) dimensions in multiple local sites within human parietal cortex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recent COVID-related social distancing practices highlight the need to better understand brain mechanisms which regulate "personal space" (PS), which is defined by the closest interpersonal distance that is comfortable for an individual. Using high spatial resolution brain imaging, we tested whether a map of external space is transformed from purely visual (3D-based) information to a more egocentric map (related to personal space) in human parietal cortex. We confirmed this transformation and further showed that it was mediated by two mutually segregated sets of columns: one which encoded interpersonal distance and another that encoded visual distance. These results suggest that the cortical transformation of sensory-centered to person-centered encoding of space near the body involves short-range communication across interdigitated columns within parietal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger B H Tootell
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02129
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Zahra Nasiriavanaki
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Baktash Babadi
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Douglas N Greve
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02129
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Shahin Nasr
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02129
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Daphne J Holt
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02129
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Paredes R, Ferri F, Seriès P. Influence of E/I balance and pruning in peri-personal space differences in schizophrenia: A computational approach. Schizophr Res 2022; 248:368-377. [PMID: 34509334 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The encoding of the space close to the body, named peri-personal space (PPS), is thought to play a crucial role in the unusual experiences of the self observed in schizophrenia (SCZ). However, it is unclear why SCZ patients and high schizotypal (H-SPQ) individuals present a narrower PPS and why the boundaries of the PPS are more sharply defined in patients. We hypothesise that the unusual PPS representation observed in SCZ is caused by an imbalance of excitation and inhibition (E/I) in recurrent synapses of unisensory neurons or an impairment of bottom-up and top-down connectivity between unisensory and multisensory neurons. These hypotheses were tested computationally by manipulating the effects of E/I imbalance, feedback weights and synaptic density in the network. Using simulations we explored the effects of such impairments in the PPS representation generated by the network and fitted the model to behavioural data. We found that increased excitation of sensory neurons could account for the smaller PPS observed in SCZ and H-SPQ, whereas a decrease of synaptic density caused the sharp definition of the PPS observed in SCZ. We propose a novel conceptual model of PPS representation in the SCZ spectrum that can account for alterations in self-world demarcation, failures in tactile discrimination and symptoms observed in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato Paredes
- The University of Edinburgh, School of Informatics, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Cognitive Science Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Facultad de Psicología Universidad Nacional de Córdoba - CONICET, Argentina; Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Lima, Peru
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Peggy Seriès
- The University of Edinburgh, School of Informatics, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
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7
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Noel JP, Paredes R, Terrebonne E, Feldman JI, Woynaroski T, Cascio CJ, Seriès P, Wallace MT. Inflexible Updating of the Self-Other Divide During a Social Context in Autism: Psychophysical, Electrophysiological, and Neural Network Modeling Evidence. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 7:756-764. [PMID: 33845169 PMCID: PMC8521572 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects many aspects of life, from social interactions to (multi)sensory processing. Similarly, the condition expresses at a variety of levels of description, from genetics to neural circuits and interpersonal behavior. We attempt to bridge between domains and levels of description by detailing the behavioral, electrophysiological, and putative neural network basis of peripersonal space (PPS) updating in ASD during a social context, given that the encoding of this space relies on appropriate multisensory integration, is malleable by social context, and is thought to delineate the boundary between the self and others. METHODS Fifty (20 male/30 female) young adults, either diagnosed with ASD or age- and sex-matched individuals, took part in a visuotactile reaction time task indexing PPS, while high-density electroencephalography was continuously recorded. Neural network modeling was performed in silico. RESULTS Multisensory psychophysics demonstrates that while PPS in neurotypical individuals shrinks in the presence of others-as to "give space"-this does not occur in ASD. Likewise, electroencephalography recordings suggest that multisensory integration is altered by social context in neurotypical individuals but not in individuals with ASD. Finally, a biologically plausible neural network model shows, as a proof of principle, that PPS updating may be inflexible in ASD owing to the altered excitatory/inhibitory balance that characterizes neural circuits in animal models of ASD. CONCLUSIONS Findings are conceptually in line with recent statistical inference accounts, suggesting diminished flexibility in ASD, and further these observations by suggesting within an example relevant for social cognition that such inflexibility may be due to excitatory/inhibitory imbalances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York.
| | - Renato Paredes
- Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Terrebonne
- Undergraduate Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Jacob I Feldman
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Tiffany Woynaroski
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Carissa J Cascio
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Peggy Seriès
- Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
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Peloso A, Moeckli B, Delaune V, Oldani G, Andres A, Compagnon P. Artificial Intelligence: Present and Future Potential for Solid Organ Transplantation. Transpl Int 2022; 35:10640. [PMID: 35859667 PMCID: PMC9290190 DOI: 10.3389/ti.2022.10640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer algorithms used to complete tasks that usually require human intelligence. Typical examples include complex decision-making and- image or speech analysis. AI application in healthcare is rapidly evolving and it undoubtedly holds an enormous potential for the field of solid organ transplantation. In this review, we provide an overview of AI-based approaches in solid organ transplantation. Particularly, we identified four key areas of transplantation which could be facilitated by AI: organ allocation and donor-recipient pairing, transplant oncology, real-time immunosuppression regimes, and precision transplant pathology. The potential implementations are vast—from improved allocation algorithms, smart donor-recipient matching and dynamic adaptation of immunosuppression to automated analysis of transplant pathology. We are convinced that we are at the beginning of a new digital era in transplantation, and that AI has the potential to improve graft and patient survival. This manuscript provides a glimpse into how AI innovations could shape an exciting future for the transplantation community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Peloso
- Department of General Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Transplantation, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Andrea Peloso,
| | - Beat Moeckli
- Department of General Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Transplantation, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Vaihere Delaune
- Department of General Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Graziano Oldani
- Department of General Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Transplantation, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Axel Andres
- Department of General Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Transplantation, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Compagnon
- Department of Transplantation, University of Geneva Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Seinfeld S, Feuchtner T, Pinzek J, Muller J. Impact of Information Placement and User Representations in VR on Performance and Embodiment. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2022; 28:1545-1556. [PMID: 32877336 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2020.3021342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Human sensory processing is sensitive to the proximity of stimuli to the body. It is therefore plausible that these perceptual mechanisms also modulate the detectability of content in VR, depending on its location. We evaluate this in a user study and further explore the impact of the user's representation during interaction. We also analyze how embodiment and motor performance are influenced by these factors. In a dual-task paradigm, participants executed a motor task, either through virtual hands, virtual controllers, or a keyboard. Simultaneously, they detected visual stimuli appearing in different locations. We found that, while actively performing a motor task in the virtual environment, performance in detecting additional visual stimuli is higher when presented near the user's body. This effect is independent of how the user is represented and only occurs when the user is also engaged in a secondary task. We further found improved motor performance and increased embodiment when interacting through virtual tools and hands in VR, compared to interacting with a keyboard. This article contributes to better understanding the detectability of visual content in VR, depending on its location in the virtual environment, as well as the impact of different user representations on information processing, embodiment, and motor performance.
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10
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Abstract
Navigating by path integration requires continuously estimating one's self-motion. This estimate may be derived from visual velocity and/or vestibular acceleration signals. Importantly, these senses in isolation are ill-equipped to provide accurate estimates, and thus visuo-vestibular integration is an imperative. After a summary of the visual and vestibular pathways involved, the crux of this review focuses on the human and theoretical approaches that have outlined a normative account of cue combination in behavior and neurons, as well as on the systems neuroscience efforts that are searching for its neural implementation. We then highlight a contemporary frontier in our state of knowledge: understanding how velocity cues with time-varying reliabilities are integrated into an evolving position estimate over prolonged time periods. Further, we discuss how the brain builds internal models inferring when cues ought to be integrated versus segregated-a process of causal inference. Lastly, we suggest that the study of spatial navigation has not yet addressed its initial condition: self-location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA;
| | - Dora E Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA;
- Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, NY 11201, USA
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11
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Bliek A, Bekrater-Bodmann R, Beckerle P. Cognitive Models of Limb Embodiment in Structurally Varying Bodies: A Theoretical Perspective. Front Psychol 2021; 12:716976. [PMID: 35002827 PMCID: PMC8732998 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Using the seminal rubber hand illusion and related paradigms, the last two decades unveiled the multisensory mechanisms underlying the sense of limb embodiment, that is, the cognitive integration of an artificial limb into one's body representation. Since also individuals with amputations can be induced to embody an artificial limb by multimodal sensory stimulation, it can be assumed that the involved computational mechanisms are universal and independent of the perceiver's physical integrity. This is anything but trivial, since experimentally induced embodiment has been related to the embodiment of prostheses in limb amputees, representing a crucial rehabilitative goal with clinical implications. However, until now there is no unified theoretical framework to explain limb embodiment in structurally varying bodies. In the present work, we suggest extensions of the existing Bayesian models on limb embodiment in normally-limbed persons in order to apply them to the specific situation in limb amputees lacking the limb as physical effector. We propose that adjusted weighting of included parameters of a unified modeling framework, rather than qualitatively different model structures for normally-limbed and amputated individuals, is capable of explaining embodiment in structurally varying bodies. Differences in the spatial representation of the close environment (peripersonal space) and the limb (phantom limb awareness) as well as sensorimotor learning processes associated with limb loss and the use of prostheses might be crucial modulators for embodiment of artificial limbs in individuals with limb amputation. We will discuss implications of our extended Bayesian model for basic research and clinical contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adna Bliek
- Chair of Autonomous Systems and Mechatronics, Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Robin Bekrater-Bodmann
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Philipp Beckerle
- Chair of Autonomous Systems and Mechatronics, Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
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12
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Ogawa N, Narumi T, Hirose M. Effect of Avatar Appearance on Detection Thresholds for Remapped Hand Movements. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2021; 27:3182-3197. [PMID: 31940540 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2020.2964758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Hand interaction techniques in virtual reality often exploit visual dominance over proprioception to remap physical hand movements onto different virtual movements. However, when the offset between virtual and physical hands increases, the remapped virtual hand movements are hardly self-attributed, and the users become aware of the remapping. Interestingly, the sense of self-attribution of a body is called the sense of body ownership (SoBO) in the field of psychology, and the realistic the avatar, the stronger is the SoBO. Hence, we hypothesized that realistic avatars (i.e., human hands) can foster self-attribution of the remapped movements better than abstract avatars (i.e., spherical pointers), thus making the remapping less noticeable. In this article, we present an experiment in which participants repeatedly executed reaching movements with their right hand while different amounts of horizontal shifts were applied. We measured the remapping detection thresholds for each combination of shift directions (left or right) and avatar appearances (realistic or abstract). The results show that realistic avatars increased the detection threshold (i.e., lowered sensitivity) by 31.3 percent than the abstract avatars when the leftward shift was applied (i.e., when the hand moved in the direction away from the body-midline). In addition, the proprioceptive drift (i.e., the displacement of self-localization toward an avatar) was larger with realistic avatars for leftward shifts, indicating that visual information was given greater preference during visuo-proprioceptive integration in realistic avatars. Our findings quantifiably show that realistic avatars can make remapping less noticeable for larger mismatches between virtual and physical movements and can potentially improve a wide variety of hand-remapping techniques without changing the mapping itself.
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Masson C, van der Westhuizen D, Noel JP, Prevost A, van Honk J, Fotopoulou A, Solms M, Serino A. Testosterone administration in women increases the size of their peripersonal space. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:1639-1649. [PMID: 33770219 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06080-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) is the space immediately surrounding the body, conceptualised as a sensory-motor interface between body and environment. PPS size differs between individuals and contexts, with intrapersonal traits and states, as well as social factors having a determining role on the size of PPS. Testosterone plays an important role in regulating social-motivational behaviour and is known to enhance dominance motivation in an implicit and unconscious manner. We investigated whether the dominance-enhancing effects of testosterone reflect as changes in the representation of PPS in a within-subjects testosterone administration study in women (N = 19). Participants performed a visuo-tactile integration task in a mixed-reality setup. Results indicated that the administration of testosterone caused a significant enlargement of participants' PPS, suggesting that testosterone caused participants to implicitly appropriate a larger space as their own. These findings suggest that the dominance-enhancing effects of testosterone reflect at the level of sensory-motor processing in PPS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, USA
| | | | - Jack van Honk
- University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.,Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Mark Solms
- University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Andrea Serino
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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14
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Three-Dimensional Assessment of Upper Limb Proprioception via a Wearable Exoskeleton. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/app11062615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Proprioception—the sense of body segment’s position and movement—plays a crucial role in human motor control, integrating the sensory information necessary for the correct execution of daily life activities. Despite scientific evidence recognizes that several neurological diseases hamper proprioceptive encoding with consequent inability to correctly perform movements, proprioceptive assessment in clinical settings is still limited to standard scales. Literature on physiology of upper limb’s proprioception is mainly focused on experimental approaches involving planar setups, while the present work provides a novel paradigm for assessing proprioception during single—and multi-joint matching tasks in a three-dimensional workspace. To such extent, a six-degrees of freedom exoskeleton, ALEx-RS (Arm Light Exoskeleton Rehab Station), was used to evaluate 18 healthy subjects’ abilities in matching proprioceptive targets during combined single and multi-joint arm’s movements: shoulder abduction/adduction, shoulder flexion/extension, and elbow flexion/extension. Results provided evidence that proprioceptive abilities depend on the number of joints simultaneously involved in the task and on their anatomical location, since muscle spindles work along their preferred direction, modulating the streaming of sensory information accordingly. These findings suggest solutions for clinical sensorimotor evaluation after neurological disease, where assessing proprioceptive deficits can improve the recovery path and complement the rehabilitation outcomes.
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15
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Maggio MG, Naro A, Manuli A, Maresca G, Balletta T, Latella D, De Luca R, Calabrò RS. Effects of Robotic Neurorehabilitation on Body Representation in Individuals with Stroke: A Preliminary Study Focusing on an EEG-Based Approach. Brain Topogr 2021; 34:348-362. [PMID: 33661430 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-021-00825-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Patients with stroke can experience a drastic change in their body representation (BR), beyond the physical and psychological consequences of stroke itself. Noteworthy, the misperception of BR could affect patients' motor performance even more. Our study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of a robot-aided gait training (RAGT) equipped with augmented visuomotor feedback, expected to target BR (RAGT + VR) in improving lower limb sensorimotor function, gait performance (using Fugl-Meyer Assessment scale for lower extremities, FMA-LE), and BR (using the Body Esteem Scale-BES- and the Body Uneasiness Test-BUT), as compared to RAGT - VR. We also assessed the neurophysiologic basis putatively subtending the BR-based motor function recovery, using EEG recording during RAGT. Forty-five patients with stroke were enrolled in this study and randomized with a 1:2 ratio into either the RAGT + VR (n = 30) or the RAGT - VR (n = 15) group. The former group carried out rehabilitation training with the Lokomat©Pro; whereas, the latter used the Lokomat©Nanos. The rehabilitation protocol consisted of 40 one-hour training sessions. At the end of the training, the RAGT + VR improved in FMA-LE (p < 0.001) and BR (as per BES, (p < 0.001), and BUT, (p < 0.001)) more than the RAGT- did (p < 0.001). These differences in clinical outcomes were paralleled by a greater strengthening of visuomotor connectivity and corticomotor excitability (as detected at the EEG analyses) in the RAGT + VR than in the RAGT - VR (all comparisons p < 0.001), corresponding to an improved motor programming and execution in the former group.We may argue that BR recovery was important concerning functional motor improvement by its integration with the motor control system. This likely occurred through the activation of the Mirror Neuron System secondary to the visuomotor feedback provision, resembling virtual reality. Last, our data further confirm the important role of visuomotor feedback in post-stroke rehabilitation, which can achieve better patient-tailored improvement in functional gait by means of RAGT + VR targeting BR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Grazia Maggio
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Antonino Naro
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Alfredo Manuli
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Giuseppa Maresca
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Tina Balletta
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Desirèe Latella
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Rosaria De Luca
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy
| | - Rocco Salvatore Calabrò
- IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo - Piemonte, via Palermo, SS113, Ctr. Casazza, 98124, Messina, Italy.
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16
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Fanghella M, Era V, Candidi M. Interpersonal Motor Interactions Shape Multisensory Representations of the Peripersonal Space. Brain Sci 2021; 11:255. [PMID: 33669561 PMCID: PMC7922994 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11020255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
This perspective review focuses on the proposal that predictive multisensory integration occurring in one's peripersonal space (PPS) supports individuals' ability to efficiently interact with others, and that integrating sensorimotor signals from the interacting partners leads to the emergence of a shared representation of the PPS. To support this proposal, we first introduce the features of body and PPS representations that are relevant for interpersonal motor interactions. Then, we highlight the role of action planning and execution on the dynamic expansion of the PPS. We continue by presenting evidence of PPS modulations after tool use and review studies suggesting that PPS expansions may be accounted for by Bayesian sensory filtering through predictive coding. In the central section, we describe how this conceptual framework can be used to explain the mechanisms through which the PPS may be modulated by the actions of our interaction partner, in order to facilitate interpersonal coordination. Last, we discuss how this proposal may support recent evidence concerning PPS rigidity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its possible relationship with ASD individuals' difficulties during interpersonal coordination. Future studies will need to clarify the mechanisms and neural underpinning of these dynamic, interpersonal modulations of the PPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Fanghella
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (V.E.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Vanessa Era
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (V.E.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (V.E.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
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17
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Bertoni T, Magosso E, Serino A. From statistical regularities in multisensory inputs to peripersonal space representation and body ownership: Insights from a neural network model. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 53:611-636. [PMID: 32965729 PMCID: PMC7894138 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [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: 01/20/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS), the interface between the self and the environment, is represented by a network of multisensory neurons with visual (or auditory) receptive fields anchored to specific body parts, and tactile receptive fields covering the same body parts. Neurophysiological and behavioural features of hand PPS representation have been previously modelled through a neural network constituted by one multisensory population integrating tactile inputs with visual/auditory external stimuli. Reference frame transformations were not explicitly modelled, as stimuli were encoded in pre-computed hand-centred coordinates. Here we present a novel model, aiming to overcome this limitation by including a proprioceptive population encoding hand position. We confirmed behaviourally the plausibility of the proposed architecture, showing that visuo-proprioceptive information is integrated to enhance tactile processing on the hand. Moreover, the network's connectivity was spontaneously tuned through a Hebbian-like mechanism, under two minimal assumptions. First, the plasticity rule was designed to learn the statistical regularities of visual, proprioceptive and tactile inputs. Second, such statistical regularities were simply those imposed by the body structure. The network learned to integrate proprioceptive and visual stimuli, and to compute their hand-centred coordinates to predict tactile stimulation. Through the same mechanism, the network reproduced behavioural correlates of manipulations implicated in subjective body ownership: the invisible and the rubber hand illusion. We thus propose that PPS representation and body ownership may emerge through a unified neurocomputational process; the integration of multisensory information consistently with a model of the body in the environment, learned from the natural statistics of sensory inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Bertoni
- MySpace LabDepartment of Clinical NeuroscienceLausanne University Hospital (CHUV)University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Elisa Magosso
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”University of BolognaCesenaItaly
| | - Andrea Serino
- MySpace LabDepartment of Clinical NeuroscienceLausanne University Hospital (CHUV)University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
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18
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Noel JP, Bertoni T, Terrebonne E, Pellencin E, Herbelin B, Cascio C, Blanke O, Magosso E, Wallace MT, Serino A. Rapid Recalibration of Peri-Personal Space: Psychophysical, Electrophysiological, and Neural Network Modeling Evidence. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:5088-5106. [PMID: 32377673 PMCID: PMC7391419 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between individuals and the environment occur within the peri-personal space (PPS). The encoding of this space plastically adapts to bodily constraints and stimuli features. However, these remapping effects have not been demonstrated on an adaptive time-scale, trial-to-trial. Here, we test this idea first via a visuo-tactile reaction time (RT) paradigm in augmented reality where participants are asked to respond as fast as possible to touch, as visual objects approach them. Results demonstrate that RTs to touch are facilitated as a function of visual proximity, and the sigmoidal function describing this facilitation shifts closer to the body if the immediately precedent trial had indexed a smaller visuo-tactile disparity. Next, we derive the electroencephalographic correlates of PPS and demonstrate that this multisensory measure is equally shaped by recent sensory history. Finally, we demonstrate that a validated neural network model of PPS is able to account for the present results via a simple Hebbian plasticity rule. The present findings suggest that PPS encoding remaps on a very rapid time-scale and, more generally, that it is sensitive to sensory history, a key feature for any process contextualizing subsequent incoming sensory information (e.g., a Bayesian prior).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, NY 10003, USA
| | - Tommaso Bertoni
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Emily Terrebonne
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Elisa Pellencin
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Trento 38068, Italy
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Campus BioTech, Geneva CH-1202, Switzerland
| | - Carissa Cascio
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medial Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Campus BioTech, Geneva CH-1202, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Magosso
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering ``Guglielmo Marconi'', University of Bologna, Cesena 40126, Italy
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medial Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Andrea Serino
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
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19
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Immersive virtual reality reveals that visuo-proprioceptive discrepancy enlarges the hand-centred peripersonal space. Neuropsychologia 2020; 146:107540. [PMID: 32593721 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107540] [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] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Vision and proprioception, informing the system about the body position in space, seem crucial in defining the boundary of the peripersonal space (PPS). What happens to the PPS representation when a conflict between vision and proprioception arises? We capitalize on the Immersive Virtual Reality to dissociate vision and proprioception by presenting the participants' 3D hand image in congruent/incongruent positions with respect to the participants' real hand. To measure the hand-centred PPS, we exploit multisensory integration occurring when visual stimuli are delivered simultaneously with tactile stimuli applied to a body district; i.e., visual enhancement of touch (VET). Participants are instructed to respond to tactile stimuli while ignoring visual stimuli (red LED), which can appear either near to or far from the hand receiving tactile (electrical) stimuli. The results show that, when vision and proprioception are congruent (i.e., real and virtual hand coincide), a space-dependent modulation of the VET effect occurs (with faster responses when visual stimuli are near to than far from the stimulated hand). Contrarily, when vision and proprioception are incongruent (i.e., a discrepancy between real and virtual hand is present), a comparable VET effect is observed when visual stimuli occur near to the real hand and when they occur far from it, but close to the virtual hand. These findings, also confirmed by the independent estimate of a Bayesian Causal Inference model, suggest that, when the visuo-proprioceptive discrepancy makes the coding of the hand position less precise, the hand-centred PPS is enlarged, likely to optimize reactions to external events.
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20
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French RL, DeAngelis GC. Multisensory neural processing: from cue integration to causal inference. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 16:8-13. [PMID: 32968701 DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Neurophysiological studies of multisensory processing have largely focused on how the brain integrates information from different sensory modalities to form a coherent percept. However, in the natural environment, an important extra step is needed: the brain faces the problem of causal inference, which involves determining whether different sources of sensory information arise from the same environmental cause, such that integrating them is advantageous Behavioral and computational studies have provided a strong foundation for studying causal inference, but studies of its neural basis have only recently been undertaken. This review focuses on recent advances regarding how the brain infers the causes of sensory inputs and uses this information to make robust perceptual estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ranran L French
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
| | - Gregory C DeAngelis
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
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21
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Motyka P, Litwin P. Proprioceptive Precision and Degree of Visuo-Proprioceptive Discrepancy Do Not Influence the Strength of the Rubber Hand Illusion. Perception 2019; 48:882-891. [DOI: 10.1177/0301006619865189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Rubber hand illusion is caused by spatiotemporally congruent visuotactile stimulation which induces a sense of ownership towards a fake limb. We tested two predictions of the Bayesian bottom-up model; namely, that the strength of the illusion is inversely proportional to (a) the distance separating hands and (b) the precision of proprioceptive signals. To manipulate distance, we displaced participants’ hands to either a position close to (8 cm) or far from (24 cm) the rubber hand. Before manipulation, we assessed proprioceptive abilities in a task requiring active reproduction of one’s arm’s position. Proprioceptive precision was operationalised as inversely related to the variance of the estimations. Multiple regression showed that both for subjective and physiological measures neither distance, nor proprioceptive precision, nor their interaction were predictors of illusion strength. Bayes factor analyses provided evidence for null effects. Our findings suggest the limited relevance of proprioception for the strength of visuo-haptically induced rubber hand illusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Motyka
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Litwin
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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22
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Noel JP, Chatelle C, Perdikis S, Jöhr J, Lopes Da Silva M, Ryvlin P, De Lucia M, Millán JDR, Diserens K, Serino A. Peri-personal space encoding in patients with disorders of consciousness and cognitive-motor dissociation. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 24:101940. [PMID: 31357147 PMCID: PMC6664240 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral assessments of consciousness based on overt command following cannot differentiate patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) from those who demonstrate a dissociation between intent/awareness and motor capacity: cognitive motor dissociation (CMD). We argue that delineation of peri-personal space (PPS) – the multisensory-motor space immediately surrounding the body – may differentiate these patients due to its central role in mediating human-environment interactions, and putatively in scaffolding a minimal form of selfhood. In Experiment 1, we determined a normative physiological index of PPS by recording electrophysiological (EEG) responses to tactile, auditory, or audio-tactile stimulation at different distances (5 vs. 75 cm) in healthy volunteers (N = 19). Contrasts between paired (AT) and summed (A + T) responses demonstrated multisensory supra-additivity when AT stimuli were presented near, i.e., within the PPS, and highlighted somatosensory-motor sensors as electrodes of interest. In Experiment 2, we recorded EEG in patients behaviorally diagnosed as DOC or putative CMD (N = 17, 30 sessions). The PPS-measure developed in Experiment 1 was analyzed in relation with both standard clinical diagnosis (i.e., Coma Recovery Scale; CRS-R) and a measure of neural complexity associated with consciousness. Results demonstrated a significant correlation between the PPS measure and neural complexity, but not with the CRS-R, highlighting the added value of the physiological recordings. Further, multisensory processing in PPS was preserved in putative CMD but not in DOC patients. Together, the findings suggest that indexing PPS allows differentiating between groups of patients whom both show overt motor impairments (DOC and CMD) but putatively distinct levels of awareness or motor intent. Behavioral assessments confound consciousness and motor output. We suggest that multisensory coding of actionable space may dissociate these two. We develop an electrophysiological marker of peri-personal space. Then use this marker to distinguish impairments in consciousness and motor output.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Camille Chatelle
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness, University and University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Serafeim Perdikis
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland; Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neural Engineering Laboratory, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, UK
| | - Jane Jöhr
- Acute Neurorehabilitation Unit, Neurology, Department of and Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marina Lopes Da Silva
- Acute Neurorehabilitation Unit, Neurology, Department of and Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Ryvlin
- Acute Neurorehabilitation Unit, Neurology, Department of and Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marzia De Lucia
- Laboratoire de Recherche en Neuroimagerie, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - José Del R Millán
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Karin Diserens
- Acute Neurorehabilitation Unit, Neurology, Department of and Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Andrea Serino
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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23
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Lohmann J, Belardinelli A, Butz MV. Hands Ahead in Mind and Motion: Active Inference in Peripersonal Hand Space. Vision (Basel) 2019; 3:vision3020015. [PMID: 31735816 PMCID: PMC6802774 DOI: 10.3390/vision3020015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
According to theories of anticipatory behavior control, actions are initiated by predicting their sensory outcomes. From the perspective of event-predictive cognition and active inference, predictive processes activate currently desired events and event boundaries, as well as the expected sensorimotor mappings necessary to realize them, dependent on the involved predicted uncertainties before actual motor control unfolds. Accordingly, we asked whether peripersonal hand space is remapped in an uncertainty anticipating manner while grasping and placing bottles in a virtual reality (VR) setup. To investigate, we combined the crossmodal congruency paradigm with virtual object interactions in two experiments. As expected, an anticipatory crossmodal congruency effect (aCCE) at the future finger position on the bottle was detected. Moreover, a manipulation of the visuo-motor mapping of the participants’ virtual hand while approaching the bottle selectively reduced the aCCE at movement onset. Our results support theories of event-predictive, anticipatory behavior control and active inference, showing that expected uncertainties in movement control indeed influence anticipatory stimulus processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Lohmann
- Cognitive Modeling, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anna Belardinelli
- Cognitive Modeling, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Martin V Butz
- Cognitive Modeling, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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