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Jahanian Najafabadi A, Küster D, Putze F, Godde B. Tool-use training in augmented reality: plasticity of forearm body schema does not predict sense of ownership or agency in older adults. Exp Brain Res 2023:10.1007/s00221-023-06645-2. [PMID: 37306753 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06645-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In young adults (YA) who practised controlling a virtual tool in augmented reality (AR), the emergence of a sense of body ownership over the tool was associated with the integration of the virtual tool into the body schema (BS). Agency emerged independent of BS plasticity. Here we aimed to replicate these findings in older adults (OA). Although they are still able to learn new motor tasks, brain plasticity and learning capacity are reduced in OA. We predicted that OA would be able to gain control over the virtual tool indicated by the emergence of agency but would show less BS plasticity as compared to YA. Still, an association between BS plasticity and body ownership was expected. OA were trained in AR to control a virtual gripper to enclose and touch a virtual object. In the visuo-tactile (VT) but not the vision-only (V) condition, vibro-tactile feedback was applied through a CyberTouch II glove when the tool touched the object. BS plasticity was assessed with a tactile distance judgement task where participants judged distances between two tactile stimuli applied to their right forearm. Participants further rated their perceived ownership and agency after training. As expected, agency emerged during the use of the tool. However, results did not indicate any changes in the BS of the forearm after virtual tool-use training. Also, an association between BS plasticity and the emergence of body ownership could not be confirmed for OA. Similar to YA, the practice effect was stronger in the visuo-tactile feedback condition compared with the vision-only condition. We conclude that a sense of agency may strongly relate to improvement in tool-use in OA independent of alterations in the BS, while ownership did not emerge due to a lack of BS plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Jahanian Najafabadi
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld University, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany.
- School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University Bremen, 28759, Bremen, Germany.
| | - Dennis Küster
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Felix Putze
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ben Godde
- School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University Bremen, 28759, Bremen, Germany
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Buck LE, Chakraborty S, Bodenheimer B. The Impact of Embodiment and Avatar Sizing on Personal Space in Immersive Virtual Environments. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2022; 28:2102-2113. [PMID: 35167460 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2022.3150483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we examine how embodiment and manipulation of a self-avatar's dimensions - specifically the arm length - affect users' judgments of the personal space around them in an immersive virtual environment. In the real world, personal space is the immediate space around the body in which physical interactions are possible. Personal space is increasingly studied in virtual environments because of its importance to social interactions. Here, we specifically look at two components of personal space, interpersonal and peripersonal space, and how they are affected by embodiment and the sizing of a self-avatar. We manipulated embodiment, hypothesizing that higher levels of embodiment will result in larger measures of interpersonal space and smaller measures of peripersonal space. Likewise, we manipulated the arm length of a self-avatar, hypothesizing that while interpersonal space would change with changing arm length, peripersonal space would not. We found that the representation of both interpersonal and peripersonal space change when the user experiences differing levels of embodiment in accordance with our hypotheses, and that only interpersonal space was sensitive to changes in the dimensions of a self-avatar's arms. These findings provide increased understanding of the role of embodiment and self-avatars in the regulation of personal space, and provide foundations for improved design of social interaction in virtual environments.
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Simple action alters attention towards visual features. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:1699-1712. [PMID: 33686589 PMCID: PMC8084832 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02259-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed an action effect, in which a simple action towards a prime stimulus biases attention in a subsequent visual search in favor of objects that match the prime. However, to date the majority of research on the phenomenon has studied search elements that are exact matches to the prime, and that vary only on the dimension of color, making it unclear how general the phenomenon is. Here, across a series of experiments, we show that action can also prioritize objects that match the shape of the prime. Additionally, action can prioritize attention to objects that match only one of either the color or the shape of the prime, suggesting that action enhances individual visual features present in the acted-on objects. The pattern of results suggests that the effect may be stronger for color matches – prioritization for shape only occurred when attention was not drawn to the color of the prime, whereas prioritization for color occurred regardless. Taken together, the results reveal that a prior action can exert a strong influence on subsequent attention towards features of the acted-on object.
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Roberts JW, Lawrence GP, Welsh TN, Wilson MR. Does high state anxiety exacerbate distractor interference? Hum Mov Sci 2021; 76:102773. [PMID: 33636571 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2021.102773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Attentional Control Theory states that anxiety can cause attention to be allocated to irrelevant sources of information by hindering the ability to control attention and focus on the information that matters. In a separate line of inquiry, action-centred views of attention state that non-target distractors involuntarily activate response codes that may cause interference with target-directed movements (distractor interference effect). Due to the proposed negative effects of anxiety on attentional control, we examined whether anxiety could also modulate distractor interference. Participants executed target-directed aiming movements to one of three targets with the potential of a distractor being presented at near or far locations. Distractors were presented at different times with respect to the target presentation in order to explore the excitatory (0, -100 ms) and inhibitory (-850 ms) processing of the distractor. As a broad indication of the effect of anxiety, the analysis of no distractor trials indicated a lower proportion of time and displacement to reach peak velocity under high compared to low anxiety conditions. Meanwhile, the typical excitatory influence of the distractors located near, compared to far, at a short distractor-onset asynchrony was found in movement time and overall response time. However, this distractor excitation was even greater under high compared to low anxiety in the reaction time component of the response. These findings broadly implicate the attentional control perspective, but they further indicate an influence of anxiety on the excitation rather than inhibition of responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Roberts
- Liverpool Hope University, Psychology, Action and Learning of Movement (PALM) Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, Hope Park, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK.
| | - Gavin P Lawrence
- School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance, Bangor University, George Building, Bangor LL57 2PZ, UK
| | - Timothy N Welsh
- Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M52 2W6, Canada; Centre for Motor Control, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M52 2W6, Canada
| | - Mark R Wilson
- University of Exeter, School of Sport and Health Sciences, Heavitree Road, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
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Vergallito A, Lo Gerfo E, Varoli E, Brambilla M, Sacchi S, Anzani S, Romero Lauro LJ. Positive self-perception and corticospinal excitability: Recalling positive behavior expands peripersonal space boundaries. Neuropsychologia 2019; 135:107224. [PMID: 31604069 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Converging evidence suggests that peripersonal space has dynamic properties, that can be influenced by motor and cognitive factors. Here, we investigated whether changes in self-perception may impact upon peripersonal representation. Specifically, employing non-invasive brain stimulation, we tested whether corticospinal excitability elicited by objects placed in the vertical peripersonal vs extrapersonal space can be influenced by changes in self-perception after recalling a personal experience inducing the feeling of high power (vs. positivity vs. low power). In a preliminary study (Study 1, N = 39) participants were presented with an object, whose position was manipulated in the horizontal vs vertical space. We assessed corticospinal excitability by measuring Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Electromyography co-registration (TMS-EMG). In the horizontal condition, we replicated the well-known motor facilitation induced by objects falling in the peri vs extrapersonal space, while in the vertical dimension MEPs were higher in the extrapersonal space. In the main experiment (Study 2), participants (N = 55) were randomly assigned to feel high power, low power, or a general positive emotion and were asked to observe the same object positioned either in the peripersonal or in the extrapersonal vertical space. Results showed that in the low power condition MEPs were higher in the extrapersonal vs peripersonal, as in Study 1, while in high power and positive conditions MEPs were not influenced by distance. Taken together, our findings suggest a dissociable pattern of motor facilitation underlying vertical vs horizontal space perception and, crucially, that changes in self-perception can influence such a representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Vergallito
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy
| | - E Lo Gerfo
- Clinical Psychology Service of Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCSS IsMeTT) Palermo, Italy; NeuroMI - Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy
| | - E Varoli
- Clinical Psychology Service of Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCSS IsMeTT) Palermo, Italy; University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Italy
| | - M Brambilla
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy
| | - S Sacchi
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy
| | - S Anzani
- University of Chieti-Pescara "G. D'Annunzio", Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Italy
| | - L J Romero Lauro
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy; NeuroMI - Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy.
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Multhaup KS, Munger MP, Smith KC. Boundary Extension Is Sensitive to Hand Position in Young and Older Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2018; 73:622-629. [PMID: 26988866 PMCID: PMC6018955 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbw011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2015] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Based on preliminary reports, we expected an age-related increase in boundary extension (BE), a phenomenon in which people falsely remember seeing more of a scene than was presented. Given recent data suggesting hand-centered attentional frames in young adults contrasted with body-centered attentional frames in older adults, we predicted hand-position effects on BE in young adults only. Method Participants (59 young, 60 older adults) viewed photographs of complex scenes (e.g., a market) and answered yes/no questions about each. Half answered with key presses while their hands were framing the computer monitor; half while their hands were on a lapdesk. At test, participants indicated whether photographs were the same as, or at a closer or wider angle than at study. Results Both age groups demonstrated BE. When study-test angles were the same, participants rated test pictures as closer than at study. When study-test angles differed, older adults showed less BE than young adults. For both same- and different-angle conditions, there was a main effect of hand position (less BE when hands framed the monitor than when on participants' laps). Discussion The data confirm older adults show BE but show no age-related increase. Surprisingly, both young and older adults showed hand-centered attention.
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Kuehn E, Perez-Lopez MB, Diersch N, Döhler J, Wolbers T, Riemer M. Embodiment in the aging mind. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 86:207-225. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Revised: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Teramoto W, Honda K, Furuta K, Sekiyama K. Visuotactile interaction even in far sagittal space in older adults with decreased gait and balance functions. Exp Brain Res 2017; 235:2391-2405. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-017-4975-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Costello MC, Bloesch EK. Are Older Adults Less Embodied? A Review of Age Effects through the Lens of Embodied Cognition. Front Psychol 2017; 8:267. [PMID: 28289397 PMCID: PMC5326803 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodied cognition is a theoretical framework which posits that cognitive function is intimately intertwined with the body and physical actions. Although the field of psychology is increasingly accepting embodied cognition as a viable theory, it has rarely been employed in the gerontological literature. However, embodied cognition would appear to have explanatory power for aging research given that older adults typically manifest concurrent physical and mental changes, and that research has indicated a correlative relationship between such changes. The current paper reviews age-related changes in sensory processing, mental representation, and the action-perception relationship, exploring how each can be understood through the lens of embodied cognition. Compared to younger adults, older adults exhibit across all three domains an increased tendency to favor visual processing over bodily factors, leading to the conclusion that older adults are less embodied than young adults. We explore the significance of this finding in light of existing theoretical models of aging and argue that embodied cognition can benefit gerontological research by identifying further factors that can explain the cause of age-related declines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emily K Bloesch
- Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant MI, USA
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Couth S, Gowen E, Poliakoff E. Investigating the spatial and temporal modulation of visuotactile interactions in older adults. Exp Brain Res 2015; 234:1233-48. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4431-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Costello MC, Bloesch EK, Davoli CC, Panting ND, Abrams RA, Brockmole JR. Spatial representations in older adults are not modified by action: Evidence from tool use. Psychol Aging 2015; 30:656-68. [PMID: 26052886 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Theories of embodied perception hold that the visual system is calibrated by both the body schema and the action system, allowing for adaptive action-perception responses. One example of embodied perception involves the effects of tool use on distance perception, in which wielding a tool with the intention to act upon a target appears to bring that object closer. This tool-based spatial compression (i.e., tool-use effect) has been studied exclusively with younger adults, but it is unknown whether the phenomenon exists with older adults. In this study, we examined the effects of tool use on distance perception in younger and older adults in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, younger and older adults estimated the distances of targets just beyond peripersonal space while either wielding a tool or pointing with the hand. Younger adults, but not older adults, estimated targets to be closer after reaching with a tool. In Experiment 2, younger and older adults estimated the distance to remote targets while using either a baton or a laser pointer. Younger adults displayed spatial compression with the laser pointer compared to the baton, although older adults did not. Taken together, these findings indicate a generalized absence of the tool-use effect in older adults during distance estimation, suggesting that the visuomotor system of older adults does not remap from peripersonal to extrapersonal spatial representations during tool use.
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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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Revised: 02/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Schaap TS, Gonzales TI, Janssen TWJ, Brown SH. Proprioceptively guided reaching movements in 3D space: effects of age, task complexity and handedness. Exp Brain Res 2014; 233:631-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-014-4142-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Valdés-Conroy B, Sebastián M, Hinojosa JA, Román FJ, Santaniello G. A close look into the near/far space division: A real-distance ERP study. Neuropsychologia 2014; 59:27-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2013] [Revised: 04/08/2014] [Accepted: 04/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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