1
|
Boban L, Boulic R, Herbelin B. In Case of Doubt, One Follows One's Self: The Implicit Guidance of the Embodied Self-Avatar. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph 2024; 30:2109-2118. [PMID: 38437112 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2024.3372042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
The sense of embodiment in virtual reality (VR) is commonly understood as the subjective experience that one's physical body is substituted by a virtual counterpart, and is typically achieved when the avatar's body, seen from a first-person view, moves like one's physical body. Embodiment can also be experienced in other circumstances (e.g., in third-person view) or with imprecise or distorted visuo-motor coupling. It was moreover observed, in various cases of small or progressive temporal and spatial manipulations of avatars' movements, that participants may spontaneously follow the movement shown by the avatar. The present work investigates whether, in some specific contexts, participants would follow what their avatar does even when large movement discrepancies occur, thereby extending the scope of understanding of the self-avatar follower effect beyond subtle changes of motion or speed manipulations. We conducted an experimental study in which we introduced uncertainty about which movement to perform at specific times and analyzed participants' movements and subjective feedback after their avatar showed them an incorrect movement. Results show that, when in doubt, participants were influenced by their avatar's movements, leading them to perform that particular error twice more often than normal. Importantly, results of the embodiment score indicate that participants experienced a dissociation with their avatar at those times. Overall, these observations not only demonstrate the possibility of provoking situations in which participants follow the guidance of their avatar for large motor distortions, despite their awareness about the avatar movement disruption and on the possible influence it had on their choice, and, importantly, exemplify how the cognitive mechanism of embodiment is deeply rooted in the necessity of having a body.
Collapse
|
2
|
Iwane F, Porssut T, Blanke O, Chavarriaga R, Del R Millán J, Herbelin B, Boulic R. Customizing the human-avatar mapping based on EEG error related potentials. J Neural Eng 2024; 21:026016. [PMID: 38386506 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ad2c02] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Objective.A key challenge of virtual reality (VR) applications is to maintain a reliable human-avatar mapping. Users may lose the sense of controlling (sense of agency), owning (sense of body ownership), or being located (sense of self-location) inside the virtual body when they perceive erroneous interaction, i.e. a break-in-embodiment (BiE). However, the way to detect such an inadequate event is currently limited to questionnaires or spontaneous reports from users. The ability to implicitly detect BiE in real-time enables us to adjust human-avatar mapping without interruption.Approach.We propose and empirically demonstrate a novel brain computer interface (BCI) approach that monitors the occurrence of BiE based on the users' brain oscillatory activity in real-time to adjust the human-avatar mapping in VR. We collected EEG activity of 37 participants while they performed reaching movements with their avatar with different magnitude of distortion.Main results.Our BCI approach seamlessly predicts occurrence of BiE in varying magnitude of erroneous interaction. The mapping has been customized by BCI-reinforcement learning (RL) closed-loop system to prevent BiE from occurring. Furthermore, a non-personalized BCI decoder generalizes to new users, enabling 'Plug-and-Play' ErrP-based non-invasive BCI. The proposed VR system allows customization of human-avatar mapping without personalized BCI decoders or spontaneous reports.Significance.We anticipate that our newly developed VR-BCI can be useful to maintain an engaging avatar-based interaction and a compelling immersive experience while detecting when users notice a problem and seamlessly correcting it.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fumiaki Iwane
- Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory (LASA), École Polytechnique Féderale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
- Dept. of Neurology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
| | - Thibault Porssut
- Immersive Interaction Research Group (IIG), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Capgemini Engineering, Paris, France
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Dept. of Neurology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ricardo Chavarriaga
- Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, Switzerland
| | - José Del R Millán
- Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
- Dept. of Neurology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
- Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
- Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ronan Boulic
- Immersive Interaction Research Group (IIG), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Albert L, Potheegadoo J, Herbelin B, Bernasconi F, Blanke O. Numerosity estimation of virtual humans as a digital-robotic marker for hallucinations in Parkinson's disease. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1905. [PMID: 38472203 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45912-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Hallucinations are frequent non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) associated with dementia and higher mortality. Despite their high clinical relevance, current assessments of hallucinations are based on verbal self-reports and interviews that are limited by important biases. Here, we used virtual reality (VR), robotics, and digital online technology to quantify presence hallucination (vivid sensations that another person is nearby when no one is actually present and can neither be seen nor heard) in laboratory and home-based settings. We establish that elevated numerosity estimation of virtual human agents in VR is a digital marker for experimentally induced presence hallucinations in healthy participants, as confirmed across several control conditions and analyses. We translated the digital marker (numerosity estimation) to an online procedure that 170 PD patients carried out remotely at their homes, revealing that PD patients with disease-related presence hallucinations (but not control PD patients) showed higher numerosity estimation. Numerosity estimation enables quantitative monitoring of hallucinations, is an easy-to-use unobtrusive online method, reaching people far away from medical centers, translating neuroscientific findings using robotics and VR, to patients' homes without specific equipment or trained staff.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Louis Albert
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jevita Potheegadoo
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Fosco Bernasconi
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wu HP, Nakul E, Betka S, Lance F, Herbelin B, Blanke O. Out-of-body illusion induced by visual-vestibular stimulation. iScience 2024; 27:108547. [PMID: 38161418 PMCID: PMC10755362 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective feeling of being located outside one's physical body and perceiving one's own body from an elevated perspective looking downwards. OBEs have been correlated with abnormal integration of bodily signals, including visual and vestibular information. In two studies, we used mixed reality combined with a motion platform to manipulate visual and vestibular integration in healthy participants. Behavioral data and questionnaires show that congruent visual-vestibular stimulation in a self-centered reference frame induced an OBE-like illusion characterized by elevated self-location and feelings of disembodiment and lightness. The OBE-like illusion was also modulated by individuals' visual field dependency assessed by the Rod and Frame Test. These results show that the manipulation of visual-vestibular stimulation in the present study induces various aspects of OBEs and further link OBE to congruency mechanisms between visual and vestibular gravitational and self-motion cues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Ping Wu
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Estelle Nakul
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Betka
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Florian Lance
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuro-X Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Betka S, Kannape OA, Fasola J, Lance F, Cardin S, Schmit A, Similowski T, Soccal PM, Herbelin B, Adler D, Blanke O. Virtual reality intervention alleviates dyspnoea in patients recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia. ERJ Open Res 2023; 9:00570-2022. [PMID: 38020572 PMCID: PMC10658613 DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00570-2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Immersive virtual reality (iVR)-based digital therapeutics are gaining clinical attention in the field of pain management. Based on known analogies between pain and dyspnoea, we investigated the effects of visual respiratory feedback on persistent dyspnoea in patients recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Methods We performed a controlled, randomised, single-blind, crossover proof-of-concept study (feasibility and initial clinical efficacy) to evaluate an iVR-based intervention to alleviate dyspnoea in patients recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia. Included patients reported persistent dyspnoea (≥5 on a 10-point scale) and preserved cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment score >24). Assignment was random and concealed. Patients received synchronous (intervention) or asynchronous (control) feedback of their breathing, embodied via a gender-matched virtual body. The virtual body flashed in a waxing and waning visual effect that could be synchronous or asynchronous to the patient's respiratory movements. Outcomes were assessed using questionnaires and breathing recordings. Results Study enrolment was open between November 2020 and April 2021. 26 patients were enrolled (27% women; median age 55 years, interquartile range (IQR) 18 years). Data were available for 24 of 26 patients. The median rating on a 7-point Likert scale of breathing comfort improved from 1 (IQR 2) at baseline to 2 (IQR 1) for synchronous feedback, but remained unchanged at 1 (IQR 1.5) for asynchronous feedback (p<0.05 between iVR conditions). Moreover, 91.2% of all patients were satisfied with the intervention (p<0.0001) and 66.7% perceived it as beneficial for their breathing (p<0.05). Conclusion Our iVR-based digital therapy presents a feasible and safe respiratory rehabilitation tool that improves breathing comfort in patients recovering from COVID-19 infection presenting with persistent dyspnoea. Future research should investigate the intervention's generalisability to persistent dyspnoea with other aetiologies and its potential for preventing chronification.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Betka
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute and Center for Neuroprosthetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Joint first authors
| | - Oliver Alan Kannape
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute and Center for Neuroprosthetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- MindMaze SA, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Virtual Medicine Center, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Joint first authors
| | - Jemina Fasola
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute and Center for Neuroprosthetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Florian Lance
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute and Center for Neuroprosthetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Aline Schmit
- Division of Lung Diseases, University Hospital and Geneva Medical School, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Similowski
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie Respiratoire Expérimentale et Clinique, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire APHP-Sorbonne Université, site Pitié-Salpêtrière, Département R3S, Paris, France
| | - Paola Marina Soccal
- Division of Lung Diseases, University Hospital and Geneva Medical School, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute and Center for Neuroprosthetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Joint senior authors
| | - Dan Adler
- Division of Lung Diseases, University Hospital and Geneva Medical School, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Joint senior authors
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute and Center for Neuroprosthetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Joint senior authors
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Bayer M, Betka S, Herbelin B, Blanke O, Zimmermann E. The full-body illusion changes visual depth perception. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10569. [PMID: 37386091 PMCID: PMC10310716 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37715-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Knowing where objects are relative to us implies knowing where we are relative to the external world. Here, we investigated whether space perception can be influenced by an experimentally induced change in perceived self-location. To dissociate real and apparent body positions, we used the full-body illusion. In this illusion, participants see a distant avatar being stroked in virtual reality while their own physical back is simultaneously stroked. After experiencing the discrepancy between the seen and the felt location of the stroking, participants report a forward drift in self-location toward the avatar. We wondered whether this illusion-induced forward drift in self-location would affect where we perceive objects in depth. We applied a psychometric measurement in which participants compared the position of a probe against a reference sphere in a two-alternative forced choice task. We found a significant improvement in task performance for the right visual field, indicated by lower just-noticeable differences, i.e., participants were better at judging the differences of the two spheres in depth. Our results suggest that the full-body illusion is able to facilitate depth perception at least unilaterally, implying that depth perception is influenced by perceived self-location.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Bayer
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Sophie Betka
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, NeuroX Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, NeuroX Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, NeuroX Institute & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Eckart Zimmermann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Delahaye M, Blanke O, Boulic R, Herbelin B. Avatar error in your favor: Embodied avatars can fix users' mistakes without them noticing. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0266212. [PMID: 36662690 PMCID: PMC9858437 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In immersive Virtual Reality (VR), users can experience the subjective feeling of embodiment for the avatar representing them in a virtual world. This is known to be strongly supported by a high Sense of Agency (SoA) for the movements of the avatar that follows the user. In general, users do not self-attribute actions of their avatar that are different from the one they actually performed. The situation is less clear when actions of the avatar satisfies the intention of the user despite distortions and noticeable differences between user and avatar movements. Here, a within-subject experiment was condutected to determine wether a finger swap helping users to achieve a task would be more tolerated than one penalizing them. In particular, in a context of fast-paced finger movements and with clear correct or incorrect responses, we swapped the finger animation of the avatar (e.g. user moves the index finger, the avatar moves the middle one) to either automatically correct for spontaneous mistakes or to introduce incorrect responses. Subjects playing a VR game were asked to report when they noticed the introduction of a finger swap. Results based on 3256 trials (∼24% of swaps noticed) show that swaps helping users have significantly fewer odds of being noticed (and with higher confidence) than the ones penalizing users. This demonstrates how the context and the intention for motor action are important factors for the SoA and for embodiment, opening new perspectives on how to design and study interactions in immersive VR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Delahaye
- Immersive Interaction Research Group, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ronan Boulic
- Immersive Interaction Research Group, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Porssut T, Iwane F, Chavarriaga R, Blanke O, Millán JDR, Boulic R, Herbelin B. EEG signature of breaks in embodiment in VR. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282967. [PMID: 37167243 PMCID: PMC10174550 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain mechanism of embodiment in a virtual body has grown a scientific interest recently, with a particular focus on providing optimal virtual reality (VR) experiences. Disruptions from an embodied state to a less- or non-embodied state, denominated Breaks in Embodiment (BiE), are however rarely studied despite their importance for designing interactions in VR. Here we use electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor the brain's reaction to a BiE, and investigate how this reaction depends on previous embodiment conditions. The experimental protocol consisted of two sequential steps; an induction step where participants were either embodied or non-embodied in an avatar, and a monitoring step where, in some cases, participants saw the avatar's hand move while their hand remained still. Our results show the occurrence of error-related potentials linked to observation of the BiE event in the monitoring step. Importantly, this EEG signature shows amplified potentials following the non-embodied condition, which is indicative of an accumulation of errors across steps. These results provide neurophysiological indications on how progressive disruptions impact the expectation of embodiment for a virtual body.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Porssut
- Immersive Interaction Research Group (IIG), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Altran Lab, Capgemini Engineering, Paris, France
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Fumiaki Iwane
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Ricardo Chavarriaga
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Center for Artificial Intelligence, School of Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Winterthur, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - José Del R Millán
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Ronan Boulic
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Immersive Interaction Research Group (IIG), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience (LNCO), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Bayer M, Betka S, Herbelin B, Blanke O, Zimmermann E. The full-body illusion changes visual depth perception. J Vis 2022. [DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.14.3581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sophie Betka
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Porssut T, Hou Y, Blanke O, Herbelin B, Boulic R. Adapting Virtual Embodiment Through Reinforcement Learning. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph 2022; 28:3193-3205. [PMID: 33556011 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2021.3057797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In Virtual Reality, having a virtual body opens a wide range of possibilities as the participant's avatar can appear to be quite different from oneself for the sake of the targeted application (e.g., for perspective-taking). In addition, the system can partially manipulate the displayed avatar movement through some distortion to make the overall experience more enjoyable and effective (e.g., training, exercising, rehabilitation). Despite its potential, an excessive distortion may become noticeable and break the feeling of being embodied into the avatar. Past researches have shown that individuals have a relatively high tolerance to movement distortions and a great variability of individual sensitivities to distortions. In this article, we propose a method taking advantage of Reinforcement Learning (RL) to efficiently identify the magnitude of the maximum distortion that does not get noticed by an individual (further noted the detection threshold). We show through a controlled experiment with subjects that the RL method finds a more robust detection threshold compared to the adaptive staircase method, i.e., it is more able to prevent subjects from detecting the distortion when its amplitude is equal or below the threshold. Finally, the associated majority voting system makes the RL method able to handle more noise within the forced choices input than adaptive staircase. This last feature is essential for future use with physiological signals as these latter are even more susceptible to noise. It would then allow to calibrate embodiment individually to increase the effectiveness of the proposed interactions.
Collapse
|
11
|
Porssut T, Blanke O, Herbelin B, Boulic R. Reaching articular limits can negatively impact embodiment in virtual reality. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0255554. [PMID: 35235574 PMCID: PMC8890650 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Providing Virtual Reality(VR) users with a 3D representation of their body complements the experience of immersion and presence in the virtual world with the experience of being physically located and more personally involved. A full-body avatar representation is known to induce a Sense of Embodiment (SoE) for this virtual body, which is associated with improvements in task performance, motivation and motor learning. Recent experimental research on embodiment provides useful guidelines, indicating the extent of discrepancy tolerated by users and, conversely, the limits and disruptive events that lead to a break in embodiment (BiE). Based on previous works on the limit of agency under movement distortion, this paper describes, studies and analyses the impact of a very common yet overlooked embodiment limitation linked to articular limits when performing a reaching movement. We demonstrate that perceiving the articular limit when fully extending the arm provides users with an additional internal proprioceptive feedback which, if not matched in the avatar’s movement, leads to the disruptive realization of an incorrect posture mapping. This study complements previous works on self-contact and visuo-haptic conflicts and emphasizes the risk of disrupting the SoE when distorting users’ movements or using a poorly-calibrated avatar.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Porssut
- Altran Lab, Capgemini Engineering, Paris, France
- Immersive Interaction Research Group, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ronan Boulic
- Immersive Interaction Research Group, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Solcà M, Krishna V, Young N, Deogaonkar M, Herbelin B, Orepic P, Mange R, Rognini G, Serino A, Rezai A, Blanke O. Enhancing analgesic spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain with personalized immersive virtual reality. Pain 2021; 162:1641-1649. [PMID: 33259460 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an approved treatment for truncal and limb neuropathic pain. However, pain relief is often suboptimal and SCS efficacy may reduce over time, requiring sometimes the addition of other pain therapies, stimulator revision, or even explantation. We designed and tested a new procedure by combining SCS with immersive virtual reality (VR) to enable analgesia in patients with chronic leg pain. We coupled SCS and VR by linking SCS-induced paresthesia with personalized visual bodily feedback that was provided by VR and matched to the spatiotemporal patterns of SCS-induced paresthesia. In this cross-sectional prospective interventional study, 15 patients with severe chronic pain and an SCS implant underwent congruent SCS-VR (personalized visual feedback of the perceived SCS-induced paresthesia displayed on the patient's virtual body) and 2 control conditions (incongruent SCS-VR and VR alone). We demonstrate the efficacy of neuromodulation-enhanced VR for the treatment of chronic pain by showing that congruent SCS-VR reduced pain ratings on average by 44%. Spinal cord stimulation-VR analgesia was stronger than that in both control conditions (enabling stronger analgesic effects than incongruent SCS-VR analgesia or VR alone) and kept increasing over successive stimulations, revealing the selectivity and consistency of the observed effects. We also show that analgesia persists after congruent SCS-VR had stopped, indicating carry over effects and underlining its therapeutic potential. Linking latest VR technology with recent insights from the neuroscience of body perception and SCS neuromodulation, our personalized new SCS-VR platform highlights the impact of immersive digiceutical therapies for chronic pain.Registration: clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02970006.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marco Solcà
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Vibhor Krishna
- Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Nicole Young
- Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Milind Deogaonkar
- Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pavo Orepic
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Robin Mange
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Giulio Rognini
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- MySpace, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ali Rezai
- Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Schaller K, Iannotti GR, Orepic P, Betka S, Haemmerli J, Boex C, Alcoba-Banqueri S, Garin DFA, Herbelin B, Park HD, Michel CM, Blanke O. The perspectives of mapping and monitoring of the sense of self in neurosurgical patients. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 2021; 163:1213-1226. [PMID: 33686522 PMCID: PMC8053654 DOI: 10.1007/s00701-021-04778-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Surgical treatment of tumors, epileptic foci or of vascular origin, requires a detailed individual pre-surgical workup and intra-operative surveillance of brain functions to minimize the risk of post-surgical neurological deficits and decline of quality of life. Most attention is attributed to language, motor functions, and perception. However, higher cognitive functions such as social cognition, personality, and the sense of self may be affected by brain surgery. To date, the precise localization and the network patterns of brain regions involved in such functions are not yet fully understood, making the assessment of risks of related post-surgical deficits difficult. It is in the interest of neurosurgeons to understand with which neural systems related to selfhood and personality they are interfering during surgery. Recent neuroscience research using virtual reality and clinical observations suggest that the insular cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, and temporo-parietal junction are important components of a neural system dedicated to self-consciousness based on multisensory bodily processing, including exteroceptive and interoceptive cues (bodily self-consciousness (BSC)). Here, we argue that combined extra- and intra-operative approaches using targeted cognitive testing, functional imaging and EEG, virtual reality, combined with multisensory stimulations, may contribute to the assessment of the BSC and related cognitive aspects. Although the usefulness of particular biomarkers, such as cardiac and respiratory signals linked to virtual reality, and of heartbeat evoked potentials as a surrogate marker for intactness of multisensory integration for intra-operative monitoring has to be proved, systemic and automatized testing of BSC in neurosurgical patients will improve future surgical outcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karl Schaller
- Department of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Giannina Rita Iannotti
- Department of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pavo Orepic
- Laboratory of Neurocognitive Science, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Betka
- Department of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Neurocognitive Science, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Julien Haemmerli
- Department of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Colette Boex
- Department of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sixto Alcoba-Banqueri
- Laboratory of Neurocognitive Science, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dorian F A Garin
- Department of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Neurocognitive Science, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Hyeong-Dong Park
- Laboratory of Neurocognitive Science, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Christoph M Michel
- Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Neurocognitive Science, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Heydrich L, Walker F, Blättler L, Herbelin B, Blanke O, Aspell JE. Interoception and Empathy Impact Perspective Taking. Front Psychol 2021; 11:599429. [PMID: 33536971 PMCID: PMC7848222 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adopting the perspective of another person is an important aspect of social cognition and has been shown to depend on multisensory signals from one's own body. Recent work suggests that interoceptive signals not only contribute to own-body perception and self-consciousness, but also to empathy. Here we investigated if social cognition - in particular adopting the perspective of another person - can be altered by a systematic manipulation of interoceptive cues and further, if this effect depends on empathic ability. The own-body transformation task (OBT) - wherein participants are instructed to imagine taking the perspective and position of a virtual body presented on a computer screen - offers an effective way to measure reaction time differences linked to the mental effort of taking an other's perspective. Here, we adapted the OBT with the flashing of a silhouette surrounding the virtual body, either synchronously or asynchronously with the timing of participants' heartbeats. We evaluated the impact of this cardio-visual synchrony on reaction times and accuracy rates in the OBT. Empathy was assessed with the empathy quotient (EQ) questionnaire. Based on previous work using the cardio-visual paradigm, we predicted that synchronous (vs. asynchronous) cardio-visual stimulation would increase self-identification with the virtual body and facilitate participants' ability to adopt the virtual body's perspective, thereby enhancing performance on the task, particularly in participants with higher empathy scores. We report that participants with high empathy showed significantly better performance during the OBT task during synchronous versus asynchronous cardio-visual stimulation. Moreover, we found a significant positive correlation between empathic ability and the synchrony effect (the difference in reaction times between the asynchronous and synchronous conditions). We conclude that synchronous cardio-visual stimulation between the participant's body and a virtual body during an OBT task makes it easier to adopt the virtual body's perspective, presumably based on multisensory integration processes. However, this effect depended on empathic ability, suggesting that empathy, interoception and social perspective taking are inherently linked.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Heydrich
- CORE Lab, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Walker
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Larissa Blättler
- Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jane Elizabeth Aspell
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Gauthier B, Bréchet L, Lance F, Mange R, Herbelin B, Faivre N, Bolton TAW, Ville DVD, Blanke O. First-person body view modulates the neural substrates of episodic memory and autonoetic consciousness: A functional connectivity study. Neuroimage 2020; 223:117370. [PMID: 32931940 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Episodic memory (EM) is classically conceived as a memory for events, localized in space and time, and characterized by autonoetic consciousness (ANC) allowing to mentally travel back in time and subjectively relive an event. Building on recent evidence that the first-person visual co-perception of one's own body during encoding impacts EM, we used a scene recognition task in immersive virtual reality (VR) and measured how first-person body view would modulate peri-encoding resting-state fMRI, EM performance, and ANC. Specifically, we investigated the impact of body view on post-encoding functional connectivity in an a priori network of regions related either to EM or multisensory bodily processing and used these regions in a seed-to-whole brain analysis. Post-encoding connectivity between right hippocampus (rHC) and right parahippocampus (rPHC) was enhanced when participants encoded scenes while seeing their body. Moreover, the strength of connectivity between the rHC, rPHC and the neocortex displayed two main patterns with respect to body view. The connectivity with a sensorimotor fronto-parietal network, comprising primary somatosensory and primary motor cortices, correlated with ANC after - but not before - encoding, depending on body view. The opposite change of connectivity was found between rHC, rPHC and the medial parietal cortex (from being correlated with ANC before encoding to an absence of correlation after encoding), but irrespective of body view. Linking immersive VR and fMRI for the study of EM and ANC, these findings suggest that seeing one's own body during encoding impacts the brain activity related to EM formation by modulating the connectivity between the right hippocampal formation and the neocortical regions involved in the processing of multisensory bodily signals and self-consciousness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Gauthier
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Lucie Bréchet
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 02215 Boston, MA, USA; Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, 02131 Boston, MA, USA; Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University of Geneva, 24 Rue Micheli-du-Crest, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Florian Lance
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Robin Mange
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Imverse SA, Chemin du Pré-Fleuri 3, 1228 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nathan Faivre
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et Neurocognition CNRS UMR 5105 UGA BSHM, France
| | - Thomas A W Bolton
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 10, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Decoded Neurofeedback, ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
| | - Dimitri Van De Ville
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 10, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University of Geneva, 24 Rue Micheli-du-Crest, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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).
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Bréchet L, Hausmann SB, Mange R, Herbelin B, Blanke O, Serino A. Subjective feeling of re-experiencing past events using immersive virtual reality prevents a loss of episodic memory. Brain Behav 2020; 10:e01571. [PMID: 32342631 PMCID: PMC7303386 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Personally meaningful past episodes, defined as episodic memories (EM), are subjectively re-experienced from the natural perspective and location of one's own body, as described by bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Neurobiological mechanisms of memory consolidation suggest how initially irrelevant episodes may be remembered, if related information makes them gain importance later in time, leading for instance, to a retroactive memory strengthening in humans. METHODS Using an immersive virtual reality system, we were able to directly manipulate the presence or absence of one's body, which seems to prevent a loss of initially irrelevant, self-unrelated past events. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Our findings provide an evidence that personally meaningful memories of our past are not fixed, but may be strengthened by later events, and that body-related integration is important for the successful recall of episodic memories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Bréchet
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sebastien B Hausmann
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Robin Mange
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Betka S, Canzoneri E, Adler D, Herbelin B, Bello-Ruiz J, Kannape OA, Similowski T, Blanke O. Mechanisms of the breathing contribution to bodily self-consciousness in healthy humans: Lessons from machine-assisted breathing? Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13564. [PMID: 32162704 PMCID: PMC7507190 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies investigated bodily self-consciousness (BSC) by experimentally exposing subjects to multisensory conflicts (i.e., visuo-tactile, audio-tactile, visuo-cardiac) in virtual reality (VR) that involve the participant's torso in a paradigm known as the full-body illusion (FBI). Using a modified FBI paradigm, we found that synchrony of visuo-respiratory stimulation (i.e., a flashing outline surrounding an avatar in VR; the flash intensity depending on breathing), is also able to modulate BSC by increasing self-location and breathing agency toward the virtual body. Our aim was to investigate such visuo-respiratory effects and determine whether respiratory motor commands contributes to BSC, using non-invasive mechanical ventilation (i.e., machine-delivered breathing). Seventeen healthy participants took part in a visuo-respiratory FBI paradigm and performed the FBI during two breathing conditions: (a) "active breathing" (i.e., participants actively initiate machine-delivered breaths) and (b) "passive breathing" (i.e., breaths' timing was determined by the machine). Respiration rate, tidal volume, and their variability were recorded. In line with previous results, participants experienced subjective changes in self-location, breathing agency, and self-identification toward the avatar's body, when presented with synchronous visuo-respiratory stimulation. Moreover, drift in self-location was reduced and tidal volume variability were increased by asynchronous visuo-respiratory stimulations. Such effects were not modulated by breathing control manipulations. Our results extend previous FBI findings showing that visuo-respiratory stimulation affects BSC, independently from breathing motor command initiation. Also, variability of respiratory parameters was influenced by visuo-respiratory feedback and might reduce breathing discomfort. Further exploration of such findings might inform the development of respiratory therapeutic tools using VR in patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Betka
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Canzoneri
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dan Adler
- Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Javier Bello-Ruiz
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Alan Kannape
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Similowski
- UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie Respiratoire Expérimentale et Clinique, INSERM, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.,Département R3S, Service de Pneumologie, Médecine Intensive et Réanimation, AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière Charles Foix, Paris, France
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics & Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Bassolino M, Bouzerda-Wahlen A, Moix V, Bellmann A, Herbelin B, Serino A, Blanke O. You or me? Disentangling perspectival, perceptual, and integrative mechanisms in heterotopagnosia. Cortex 2019; 120:212-222. [PMID: 31330470 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Heterotopagnosia-without-Autotopagnosia (HwA) is characterized by the incapacity to point to body parts on others, but not on one's own body. This has been classically interpreted as related to a self-other distinction, with impaired visual representations of other bodies seen in third person perspective (3PP), besides spared own body somatosensory representations in 1PP. However, HwA could be impacted by a deficit in the integration of visual and somatosensory information in space, that are spatially congruent in the case of one's own body, but not for others' body. Here, we test this hypothesis in a rare neurological patient with HwA, H+, as well as in a control patient with a comparable neuropsychological profile, but without HwA, and in age-matched healthy controls, in two experiments. First, we assessed body part recognition in a new task where somatosensory information from the participant's body and visual information from the target body shown in virtual reality was never aligned in space. Results show that, differently from the flawless performance in controls, H+ committed errors for not only the body of others in 3PP, but for all conditions where the information related to the real and the target body was not spatially congruent. Then, we tested whether the integration between these multisensory bodily cues in space, as during visuo-tactile stimulation in the full-body illusion, improves the patient's performance. Data show that after the stimulation prompting visuo-tactile integration, but not in control conditions, the patient's abilities to process body parts improved up to normal level, thus confirming and extending the first findings. Altogether, these results support a new interpretation of HwA as linked to the matching between somatosensory inputs from one's body and visual information from a body seen at a distance, and encourage the application of multisensory stimulation and virtual reality for the treatment of body-related disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michela Bassolino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus SUVA, Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion, Switzerland.
| | - Aurélie Bouzerda-Wahlen
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus SUVA, Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion, Switzerland
| | - Viviane Moix
- Clinique Romande de réadaptation SUVACare, Sion, Switzerland
| | - Anne Bellmann
- Clinique Romande de réadaptation SUVACare, Sion, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Rognini G, Petrini FM, Raspopovic S, Valle G, Granata G, Strauss I, Solcà M, Bello-Ruiz J, Herbelin B, Mange R, D'Anna E, Di Iorio R, Di Pino G, Andreu D, Guiraud D, Stieglitz T, Rossini PM, Serino A, Micera S, Blanke O. Multisensory bionic limb to achieve prosthesis embodiment and reduce distorted phantom limb perceptions. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2019; 90:833-836. [PMID: 30100550 PMCID: PMC6791810 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2018-318570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Rognini
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Robotic Systems, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Laboratory of Robotic Systems, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Maria Petrini
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stanisa Raspopovic
- ETH Zürich, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, TAN E 2, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Giacomo Valle
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Granata
- Area of Neurosciences, Policlinic A Gemelli foundation, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - Ivo Strauss
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Solcà
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Javier Bello-Ruiz
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Robin Mange
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Edoardo D'Anna
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Riccardo Di Iorio
- Area of Neurosciences, Policlinic A Gemelli foundation, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Di Pino
- Neurophysiology and Neuroengineering of Human-Technology Interaction, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy.,Institute of Neurology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - David Andreu
- NRIA Camin Team, University of Montpellier - LIRMM 860 Rue Saint Priest, Montpellier, France
| | - David Guiraud
- NRIA Camin Team, University of Montpellier - LIRMM 860 Rue Saint Priest, Montpellier, France
| | - Thomas Stieglitz
- Laboratory for Biomedical Microtechnology, Department of Microsystems Engineering-IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Paolo Maria Rossini
- Area of Neurosciences, Policlinic A Gemelli foundation, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Silvestro Micera
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland .,Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Bréchet L, Mange R, Herbelin B, Theillaud Q, Gauthier B, Serino A, Blanke O. First-person view of one's body in immersive virtual reality: Influence on episodic memory. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0197763. [PMID: 30845269 PMCID: PMC6405051 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Episodic memories (EMs) are recollections of contextually rich and personally relevant past events. EM has been linked to the sense of self, allowing one to mentally travel back in subjective time and re-experience past events. However, the sense of self has recently been linked to online multisensory processing and bodily self-consciousness (BSC). It is currently unknown whether EM depends on BSC mechanisms. Here, we used a new immersive virtual reality (VR) system that maintained the perceptual richness of life episodes and fully controlled the experimental stimuli during encoding and retrieval, including the participant’s body. Our data reveal a classical EM finding, which shows that memory for complex real-life like scenes decays over time. However, here we also report a novel finding that delayed retrieval performance can be enhanced when participants view their body as part of the virtual scene during encoding. This body effect was not observed when no virtual body or a moving control object was shown, thereby linking the sense of self, and BSC in particular, to EMs. The present VR methodology and the present behavioral findings will enable to study key aspects of EM in healthy participants and may be especially beneficial for the restoration of self-relevant memories in future experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Bréchet
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Robin Mange
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Quentin Theillaud
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Baptiste Gauthier
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Nesti A, Rognini G, Herbelin B, Bülthoff HH, Chuang L, Blanke O. Modulation of vection latencies in the full-body illusion. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209189. [PMID: 30562381 PMCID: PMC6298644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Current neuroscientific models of bodily self-consciousness (BSC) argue that inaccurate integration of sensory signals leads to altered states of BSC. Indeed, using virtual reality technology, observers viewing a fake or virtual body while being exposed to tactile stimulation of the real body, can experience illusory ownership over-and mislocalization towards-the virtual body (Full-Body Illusion, FBI). Among the sensory inputs contributing to BSC, the vestibular system is believed to play a central role due to its importance in estimating self-motion and orientation. This theory is supported by clinical evidence that vestibular loss patients are more prone to altered BSC states, and by recent experimental evidence that visuo-vestibular conflicts can disrupt BSC in healthy individuals. Nevertheless, the contribution of vestibular information and self-motion perception to BSC remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the relationship between alterations of BSC and self-motion sensitivity in healthy individuals. Fifteen participants were exposed to visuo-vibrotactile conflicts designed to induce an FBI, and subsequently to visual rotations that evoked illusory self-motion (vection). We found that synchronous visuo-vibrotactile stimulation successfully induced the FBI, and further observed a relationship between the strength of the FBI and the time necessary for complete vection to arise. Specifically, higher self-reported FBI scores across synchronous and asynchronous conditions were associated to shorter vection latencies. Our findings are in agreement with clinical observations that vestibular loss patients have higher FBI susceptibility and lower vection latencies, and argue for increased visual over vestibular dependency during altered states of BSC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Nesti
- Department of Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (AN); (OB)
| | - Giulio Rognini
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Heinrich H. Bülthoff
- Department of Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lewis Chuang
- Department of Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (AN); (OB)
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Solcà M, Ronchi R, Bello-Ruiz J, Schmidlin T, Herbelin B, Luthi F, Konzelmann M, Beaulieu JY, Delaquaize F, Schnider A, Guggisberg AG, Serino A, Blanke O. Heartbeat-enhanced immersive virtual reality to treat complex regional pain syndrome. Neurology 2018; 91:e479-e489. [DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000005905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
ObjectivesTo develop and test a new immersive digital technology for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) that combines principles from mirror therapy and immersive virtual reality and the latest research from multisensory body processing.MethodsIn this crossover double-blind study, 24 patients with CRPS and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were immersed in a virtual environment and shown a virtual depiction of their affected limb that was flashing in synchrony (or in asynchrony in the control condition) with their own online detected heartbeat (heartbeat-enhanced virtual reality [HEVR]). The primary outcome measures for pain reduction were subjective pain ratings, force strength, and heart rate variability (HRV).ResultsHEVR reduced pain ratings, improved motor limb function, and modulated a physiologic pain marker (HRV). These significant improvements were reliable and highly selective, absent in control HEVR conditions, not observed in healthy controls, and obtained without the application of tactile stimulation (or movement) of the painful limb, using a readily available biological signal (the heartbeat) that is most often not consciously perceived (thus preventing placebo effects).ConclusionsNext to these specific and well-controlled analgesic effects, immersive HEVR allows the application of prolonged and repeated doses of digital therapy, enables the automatized integration with existing pain treatments, and avoids application of painful bodily cues while minimizing the active involvement of the patient and therapist.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class III evidence that HEVR reduces pain and increases force strength in patients with CRPS.
Collapse
|
24
|
Pellencin E, Paladino MP, Herbelin B, Serino A. Social perception of others shapes one's own multisensory peripersonal space. Cortex 2018; 104:163-179. [PMID: 28965705 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2016] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
25
|
Heydrich L, Aspell JE, Marillier G, Lavanchy T, Herbelin B, Blanke O. Cardio-visual full body illusion alters bodily self-consciousness and tactile processing in somatosensory cortex. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9230. [PMID: 29915337 PMCID: PMC6006256 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27698-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Prominent theories highlight the importance of bodily perception for self-consciousness, but it is currently not known whether this is based on interoceptive or exteroceptive signals or on integrated signals from these anatomically distinct systems, nor where in the brain such integration might occur. To investigate this, we measured brain activity during the recently described 'cardio-visual full body illusion' which combines interoceptive and exteroceptive signals, by providing participants with visual exteroceptive information about their heartbeat in the form of a periodically illuminated silhouette outlining a video image of the participant's body and flashing in synchrony with their heartbeat. We found, as also reported previously, that synchronous cardio-visual signals increased self-identification with the virtual body. Here we further investigated whether experimental changes in self-consciousness during this illusion are accompanied by activity changes in somatosensory cortex by recording somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). We show that a late somatosensory evoked potential component (P45) reflects the illusory self-identification with a virtual body. These data demonstrate that interoceptive and exteroceptive signals can be combined to modulate activity in parietal somatosensory cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Heydrich
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Jane Elizabeth Aspell
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Guillaume Marillier
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tom Lavanchy
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Salomon R, Ronchi R, Dönz J, Bello-Ruiz J, Herbelin B, Faivre N, Schaller K, Blanke O. Insula mediates heartbeat related effects on visual consciousness. Cortex 2018; 101:87-95. [PMID: 29459283 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Revised: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Interoceptive signals, such as the heartbeat, are processed in a network of brain regions including the insular cortex. Recent studies have shown that such signals modulate perceptual and cognitive processing, and that they impact visual awareness. For example, visual stimuli presented synchronously to the heartbeat take longer to enter visual awareness than the same stimuli presented asynchronously to the heartbeat, and this is reflected in anterior insular activation. This finding demonstrated a link between the processing of interoceptive and exteroceptive signals as well as visual awareness in the insular cortex. The advantage for visual stimuli which are asynchronous to the heartbeat to enter visual consciousness may indicate a role for the anterior insula in the suppression of the sensory consequences of cardiac signals. Here, we present data from the detailed investigation of two patients with insular lesions (as well as four patients with non-insular lesions and healthy age matched controls) indicating that a lesion of the anterior insular cortex, but not of other regions, abolished this cardio-visual suppression effect. The present data provide causal evidence for the role of the anterior insula in the integration of internal interoceptive and external sensory signals for visual awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roy Salomon
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Roberta Ronchi
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan Dönz
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Javier Bello-Ruiz
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nathan Faivre
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Centre d'Economie de La Sorbonne, CNRS UMR, Paris, France
| | - Karl Schaller
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland; Neurosurgery Division, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland; Neurosurgery Division, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Serino A, Noel JP, Mange R, Canzoneri E, Pellencin E, Ruiz JB, Bernasconi F, Blanke O, Herbelin B. Peripersonal Space: An Index of Multisensory Body–Environment Interactions in Real, Virtual, and Mixed Realities. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fict.2017.00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
|
28
|
Galvan Debarba H, Bovet S, Salomon R, Blanke O, Herbelin B, Boulic R. Characterizing first and third person viewpoints and their alternation for embodied interaction in virtual reality. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0190109. [PMID: 29281736 PMCID: PMC5744958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Empirical research on the bodily self has shown that the body representation is malleable, and prone to manipulation when conflicting sensory stimuli are presented. Using Virtual Reality (VR) we assessed the effects of manipulating multisensory feedback (full body control and visuo-tactile congruence) and visual perspective (first and third person perspective) on the sense of embodying a virtual body that was exposed to a virtual threat. We also investigated how subjects behave when the possibility of alternating between first and third person perspective at will was presented. Our results support that illusory ownership of a virtual body can be achieved in both first and third person perspectives under congruent visuo-motor-tactile condition. However, subjective body ownership and reaction to threat were generally stronger for first person perspective and alternating condition than for third person perspective. This suggests that the possibility of alternating perspective is compatible with a strong sense of embodiment, which is meaningful for the design of new embodied VR experiences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henrique Galvan Debarba
- Immersive Interaction Group, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Artanim Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sidney Bovet
- Immersive Interaction Group, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roy Salomon
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Illan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ronan Boulic
- Immersive Interaction Group, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Allard E, Canzoneri E, Adler D, Morélot-Panzini C, Bello-Ruiz J, Herbelin B, Blanke O, Similowski T. Interferences between breathing, experimental dyspnoea and bodily self-consciousness. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9990. [PMID: 28855723 PMCID: PMC5577140 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11045-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Dyspnoea, a subjective experience of breathing discomfort, is a most distressing symptom. It implicates complex cortical networks that partially overlap with those underlying bodily self-consciousness, the experience that the body is one’s own within a given location (self-identification and self-location, respectively). Breathing as an interoceptive signal contributes to bodily self-consciousness: we predicted that inducing experimental dyspnoea would modify or disrupt this contribution. We also predicted that manipulating bodily self-consciousness with respiratory-visual stimulation would possibly attenuate dyspnoea. Twenty-five healthy volunteers were exposed to synchronous and asynchronous respiratory-visual illumination of an avatar during normal breathing and mechanically loaded breathing that elicited dyspnoea. During normal breathing, synchronous respiratory-visual stimulation induced illusory self-identification with the avatar and an illusory location of the subjects’ breathing towards the avatar. This did not occur when respiratory-visual stimulation was performed during dyspnoea-inducing loaded breathing. In this condition, the affective impact of dyspnoea was attenuated by respiratory-visual stimulation, particularly when asynchronous. This study replicates and reinforces previous studies about the integration of interoceptive and exteroceptive signals in the construction of bodily self-consciousness. It confirms the existence of interferences between experimental dyspnoea and cognitive functions. It suggests that respiratory-visual stimulation should be tested as a non-pharmacological approach of dyspnoea treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Allard
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie respiratoire expérimentale et clinique, Paris, France.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Canzoneri
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dan Adler
- Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Capucine Morélot-Panzini
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie respiratoire expérimentale et clinique, Paris, France.,AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière Charles Foix, Service de Pneumologie et Réanimation Médicale (Département "R3S"), F-75013, Paris, France
| | - Javier Bello-Ruiz
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Similowski
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie respiratoire expérimentale et clinique, Paris, France. .,Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Blefari ML, Martuzzi R, Salomon R, Bello-Ruiz J, Herbelin B, Serino A, Blanke O. Bilateral Rolandic operculum processing underlying heartbeat awareness reflects changes in bodily self-consciousness. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 45:1300-1312. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Revised: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Laura Blefari
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Roberto Martuzzi
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva; Geneva Switzerland
| | - Roy Salomon
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Javier Bello-Ruiz
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences; University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV); Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Campus Biotech Chemin des Mines 9 1202 Geneva Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Department of Neurology; Geneva University Hospital; Geneva Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Abstract
A fundamental component of conscious experience involves a first-person perspective (1PP), characterized by the experience of being a subject and of being directed at the world. Extending earlier work on multisensory perceptual mechanisms of 1PP, we here asked whether the experienced direction of the 1PP (i.e. the spatial direction of subjective experience of the world) depends on visual-tactile-vestibular conflicts, including the direction of gravity. Sixteen healthy subjects in supine position received visuo-tactile synchronous or asynchronous stroking to induce a full-body illusion. In the critical manipulation, we presented gravitational visual object motion directed toward or away from the participant’s body and thus congruent or incongruent with respect to the direction of vestibular and somatosensory gravitational cues. The results showed that multisensory gravitational conflict induced within-subject changes of the experienced direction of the 1PP that depended on the direction of visual gravitational cues. Participants experienced more often a downward direction of their 1PP (incongruent with respect to the participant’s physical body posture) when visual object motion was directed away rather than towards the participant’s body. These downward-directed 1PP experiences positively correlated with measures of elevated self-location. Together, these results show that visual gravitational cues contribute to the experienced direction of the 1PP, defining the subjective location and perspective from where humans experience to perceive the world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Pfeiffer
- Center for Neuroprosthethics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.,Laboratoire de Recherche en Neuroimagerie (LREN), Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University and University Hospital, Switzerland
| | - Petr Grivaz
- Center for Neuroprosthethics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthethics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthethics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.,Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthethics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Gale S, Prsa M, Schurger A, Gay A, Paillard A, Herbelin B, Guyot JP, Lopez C, Blanke O. Oscillatory neural responses evoked by natural vestibular stimuli in humans. J Neurophysiol 2015; 115:1228-42. [PMID: 26683063 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00153.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
While there have been numerous studies of the vestibular system in mammals, less is known about the brain mechanisms of vestibular processing in humans. In particular, of the studies that have been carried out in humans over the last 30 years, none has investigated how vestibular stimulation (VS) affects cortical oscillations. Here we recorded high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in healthy human subjects and a group of bilateral vestibular loss patients (BVPs) undergoing transient and constant-velocity passive whole body yaw rotations, focusing our analyses on the modulation of cortical oscillations in response to natural VS. The present approach overcame significant technical challenges associated with combining natural VS with human electrophysiology and reveals that both transient and constant-velocity VS are associated with a prominent suppression of alpha power (8-13 Hz). Alpha band suppression was localized over bilateral temporo-parietal scalp regions, and these alpha modulations were significantly smaller in BVPs. We propose that suppression of oscillations in the alpha band over temporo-parietal scalp regions reflects cortical vestibular processing, potentially comparable with alpha and mu oscillations in the visual and sensorimotor systems, respectively, opening the door to the investigation of human cortical processing under various experimental conditions during natural VS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steven Gale
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mario Prsa
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aaron Schurger
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Annietta Gay
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Aurore Paillard
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Philippe Guyot
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Lopez
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, NIA UMR 7260, Marseille, France; and
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Salomon R, Kaliuzhna M, Herbelin B, Blanke O. Balancing awareness: Vestibular signals modulate visual consciousness in the absence of awareness. Conscious Cogn 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
34
|
Serino A, Sforza AL, Kanayama N, van Elk M, Kaliuzhna M, Herbelin B, Blanke O. Tuning of temporo-occipital activity by frontal oscillations during virtual mirror exposure causes erroneous self-recognition. Eur J Neurosci 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
| | - Anna Laura Sforza
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
| | - Noriaki Kanayama
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
| | - Michiel van Elk
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
| | - Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Lausanne Switzerland
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience; Brain Mind Institute; School of Life Sciences; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Station 19, SV 2805 Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
- Department of Neurology; University Hospital; Geneva Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Ronchi R, Bello-Ruiz J, Lukowska M, Herbelin B, Cabrilo I, Schaller K, Blanke O. Right insular damage decreases heartbeat awareness and alters cardio-visual effects on bodily self-consciousness. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:11-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Revised: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
36
|
Adler D, Herbelin B, Similowski T, Blanke O. Reprint of “Breathing and sense of self: Visuo-respiratory conflicts alter body self-consciousness”. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2014; 204:131-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2014.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
|
37
|
Blanke O, Pozeg P, Hara M, Heydrich L, Serino A, Yamamoto A, Higuchi T, Salomon R, Seeck M, Landis T, Arzy S, Herbelin B, Bleuler H, Rognini G. Neurological and robot-controlled induction of an apparition. Curr Biol 2014; 24:2681-6. [PMID: 25447995 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2014] [Revised: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Tales of ghosts, wraiths, and other apparitions have been reported in virtually all cultures. The strange sensation that somebody is nearby when no one is actually present and cannot be seen (feeling of a presence, FoP) is a fascinating feat of the human mind, and this apparition is often covered in the literature of divinity, occultism, and fiction. Although it is described by neurological and psychiatric patients and healthy individuals in different situations, it is not yet understood how the phenomenon is triggered by the brain. Here, we performed lesion analysis in neurological FoP patients, supported by an analysis of associated neurological deficits. Our data show that the FoP is an illusory own-body perception with well-defined characteristics that is associated with sensorimotor loss and caused by lesions in three distinct brain regions: temporoparietal, insular, and especially frontoparietal cortex. Based on these data and recent experimental advances of multisensory own-body illusions, we designed a master-slave robotic system that generated specific sensorimotor conflicts and enabled us to induce the FoP and related illusory own-body perceptions experimentally in normal participants. These data show that the illusion of feeling another person nearby is caused by misperceiving the source and identity of sensorimotor (tactile, proprioceptive, and motor) signals of one's own body. Our findings reveal the neural mechanisms of the FoP, highlight the subtle balance of brain mechanisms that generate the experience of "self" and "other," and advance the understanding of the brain mechanisms responsible for hallucinations in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva, Rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Polona Pozeg
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Masayuki Hara
- Advanced Mechatronic Laboratory, Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8656 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Lukas Heydrich
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva, Rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Akio Yamamoto
- Advanced Mechatronic Laboratory, Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8656 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiro Higuchi
- Advanced Mechatronic Laboratory, Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8656 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Roy Salomon
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Margitta Seeck
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva, Rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Theodor Landis
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva, Rue Micheli-du-Crest 24, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Shahar Arzy
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, P.O. Box 12000, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Hannes Bleuler
- Laboratory of Robotic Systems, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 17, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Giulio Rognini
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 19, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Laboratory of Robotic Systems, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 17, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Adler D, Herbelin B, Similowski T, Blanke O. Breathing and sense of self: Visuo–respiratory conflicts alter body self-consciousness. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2014; 203:68-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2014.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2014] [Revised: 07/16/2014] [Accepted: 08/08/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
39
|
Ferrè ER, Kaliuzhna M, Herbelin B, Haggard P, Blanke O. Vestibular-somatosensory interactions: effects of passive whole-body rotation on somatosensory detection. PLoS One 2014; 9:e86379. [PMID: 24466064 PMCID: PMC3897730 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Vestibular signals are strongly integrated with information from several other sensory modalities. For example, vestibular stimulation was reported to improve tactile detection. However, this improvement could reflect either a multimodal interaction or an indirect interaction driven by vestibular effects on spatial attention and orienting. Here we investigate whether natural vestibular activation induced by passive whole-body rotation influences tactile detection. In particular, we assessed the ability to detect faint tactile stimuli to the fingertips of the left and right hand during spatially congruent or incongruent rotations. We found that passive whole-body rotations significantly enhanced sensitivity to faint shocks, without affecting response bias. Critically, this enhancement of somatosensory sensitivity did not depend on the spatial congruency between the direction of rotation and the hand stimulated. Thus, our results support a multimodal interaction, likely in brain areas receiving both vestibular and somatosensory signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Raffaella Ferrè
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Haggard
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Heydrich L, Dodds TJ, Aspell JE, Herbelin B, Bülthoff HH, Mohler BJ, Blanke O. Visual capture and the experience of having two bodies - Evidence from two different virtual reality techniques. Front Psychol 2013; 4:946. [PMID: 24385970 PMCID: PMC3866547 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
In neurology and psychiatry the detailed study of illusory own body perceptions has suggested close links between bodily processing and self-consciousness. One such illusory own body perception is heautoscopy where patients have the sensation of being reduplicated and to exist at two or even more locations. In previous experiments, using a video head-mounted display, self-location and self-identification were manipulated by applying conflicting visuo-tactile information. Yet the experienced singularity of the self was not affected, i.e., participants did not experience having multiple bodies or selves. In two experiments presented in this paper, we investigated self-location and self-identification while participants saw two virtual bodies (video-generated in study 1 and 3D computer generated in study 2) that were stroked either synchronously or asynchronously with their own body. In both experiments, we report that self-identification with two virtual bodies was stronger during synchronous stroking. Furthermore, in the video generated setup with synchronous stroking participants reported a greater feeling of having multiple bodies than in the control conditions. In study 1, but not in study 2, we report that self-location – measured by anterior posterior drift – was significantly shifted towards the two bodies in the synchronous condition only. Self-identification with two bodies, the sensation of having multiple bodies, and the changes in self-location show that the experienced singularity of the self can be studied experimentally. We discuss our data with respect to ownership for supernumerary hands and heautoscopy. We finally compare the effects of the video and 3D computer generated head-mounted display technology and discuss the possible benefits of using either technology to induce changes in illusory self-identification with a virtual body.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Heydrich
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland ; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Trevor J Dodds
- Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jane E Aspell
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Heinrich H Bülthoff
- Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany ; Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University Seoul, South Korea
| | - Betty J Mohler
- Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland ; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Abstract
Prominent theories highlight the importance of bodily perception for self-consciousness, but it is currently not known whether bodily perception is based on interoceptive or exteroceptive signals or on integrated signals from these anatomically distinct systems. In the research reported here, we combined both types of signals by surreptitiously providing participants with visual exteroceptive information about their heartbeat: A real-time video image of a periodically illuminated silhouette outlined participants’ (projected, “virtual”) bodies and flashed in synchrony with their heartbeats. We investigated whether these “cardio-visual” signals could modulate bodily self-consciousness and tactile perception. We report two main findings. First, synchronous cardio-visual signals increased self-identification with and self-location toward the virtual body, and second, they altered the perception of tactile stimuli applied to participants’ backs so that touch was mislocalized toward the virtual body. We argue that the integration of signals from the inside and the outside of the human body is a fundamental neurobiological process underlying self-consciousness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jane Elizabeth Aspell
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| | - Lukas Heydrich
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Guillaume Marillier
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| | - Tom Lavanchy
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| | - Bruno Herbelin
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Salomon R, Lim M, Herbelin B, Hesselmann G, Blanke O. Posing for awareness: Proprioception modulates access to visual consciousness in a continuous flash suppression task. J Vis 2013; 13:2. [DOI: 10.1167/13.7.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
|
43
|
Manganas A, Tsiknakis M, Leisch E, Ponder M, Molet T, Herbelin B, Magnetat-Thalmann N, Thalmann D, Fato M, Schenone A. JUST in time health emergency interventions: an innovative approach to training the citizen for emergency situations using virtual reality techniques and advanced IT tools (the VR Tool). Stud Health Technol Inform 2004; 103:327-37. [PMID: 15747937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
This paper reports the results of the second of the two systems developed by JUST, a collaborative project supported by the European Union under the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme. The most innovative content of the project has been the design and development of a complementary training course for non-professional health emergency operators, which supports the traditional learning phase, and which purports to improve the retention capability of the trainees. This was achieved with the use of advanced information technology techniques, which provide adequate support and can help to overcome the present weaknesses of the existing training mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Manganas
- Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, STEP-C, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|