Visuo-tactile predictive mechanisms of peripersonal space

Chris Dijkerman, W.P. Medendorp

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Our daily living includes bodily contacts with objects and people. While this physical contact occurs naturally, it could also pose a risk of bodily harm—for example, when objects are sharp, or people have bad intentions. It is therefore imperative to have a mechanism that predicts the consequences of bodily contact before it occurs, to guide our interactions appropriately. Evidence from a range of studies suggests a neurofunctional coupling between external visual or auditory stimuli near the body and tactile stimuli on the body. While these multisensory peripersonal representations have been linked to spatial attention, motor control, and social behaviour, a discussion on whether these functions involve a similar mechanism has been missing. Here we suggest that prediction is central to this multimodal coding: visual or auditory stimuli near the body predict tactile consequences of bodily contact. This predictive mechanism is based on learned visuo-tactile associations and modulated by higher-order visual contextual information.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe world at our fingertips
Subtitle of host publicationa multidisciplinary exploration of peripersonal space
EditorsFrederique De Vignemont, Andrea Serino, Hong Yu Wong, Alessandro Farne
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter5
Pages81-100
Number of pages19
ISBN (Print)978-0-19-885173-8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • cross-modal
  • somatosensory
  • visual
  • social
  • predictive mechanism
  • peripersonal reference frames

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