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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Observing the Transformation of Bodily Self-consciousness in the Squeeze-machine Experiment

Observing the Transformation of Bodily Self-consciousness in the Squeeze-machine Experiment

Published on: March 8, 2019

Grasping actions remap peripersonal space.

Claudio Brozzoli¹, Francesco Pavani, Christian Urquizar

¹INSERM UMR-S 864 Espace et Action, Bron, France. claudio.brozzoli@inserm.fr

|June 11, 2009

Summary

Voluntary actions like grasping an object reshape the brain's representation of peripersonal space. This multisensory remapping enhances visual interference with tactile perception during movement.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Perception

Background:

Peripersonal space, the space surrounding our body, is processed by multisensory systems in the brain.
The dynamic changes in peripersonal space representation due to actions are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if voluntary actions, specifically grasping, can alter the multisensory representation of peripersonal space.
To determine the temporal dynamics and characteristics of this action-induced spatial remapping.

Main Methods:

Participants performed tactile discrimination tasks on their hand while reaching to grasp an object.
Visual stimuli were presented as task-irrelevant distractors.
Interference from visual distractors on tactile perception was measured under static and movement conditions.

Main Results:

Reach-to-grasp movements significantly increased visual interference on tactile targets compared to static conditions.
This multisensory spatial remapping was initiated by the onset of the action and intensified during early execution.
The effect was demonstrated to be hand-centered.

Conclusions:

Voluntary, object-oriented actions dynamically remap multisensory representations of peripersonal space.
This finding establishes a functional link between action execution and the coding of near-body space.
The brain actively adjusts spatial processing based on impending interactions with the environment.