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    Visual illusion of tool use recalibrates tactile perception

    Miller, L. and Longo, Matthew R. and Saygin, A.P. (2017) Visual illusion of tool use recalibrates tactile perception. Cognition 162 , pp. 32-40. ISSN 0010-0277.

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    Abstract

    Brief use of a tool recalibrates multisensory representations of the user’s body, a phenomenon called tool embodiment. Despite two decades of research, little is known about its boundary conditions. It has been widely argued that embodiment requires active tool use, suggesting a critical role for somatosensory and motor feedback. The present study used a visual illusion to cast doubt on this view. We used a mirror-based setup to induce a visual experience of tool use with an arm that was in fact stationary. Following illusory tool use, tactile perception was recalibrated on this stationary arm, and with equal magnitude as physical use. Recalibration was not found following illusory passive tool holding, and could not be accounted for by sensory conflict or general interhemispheric plasticity. These results suggest visual tool-use signals play a critical role in driving tool embodiment.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Depositing User: Matthew Longo
    Date Deposited: 02 Feb 2017 09:50
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:31
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/18024

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