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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Published on: May 23, 2019

The tactile continuity illusion.

Norimichi Kitagawa¹, Yuka Igarashi, Makio Kashino

¹Perception and Emotion Research Group, NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1 MorinosatoWakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan. kitagawa@avg.brl.ntt.co.jp

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance

|December 9, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sensory input continuity is perceived by integrating discrete signals. This study reveals a vibrotactile continuity illusion, where weak target vibrations are perceived to continue through noise, indistinguishable from actual continuous vibrations.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Neuroscience
Sensory Perception

Background:

Perception of continuity integrates discrete sensory inputs across modalities like vision and audition.
The underlying mechanisms of continuity perception have been a long-standing research interest.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the existence of a continuity illusion in vibrotactile stimulation.
To determine if this illusion is modality-general and reflects fundamental perceptual principles.

Main Methods:

Participants were presented with brief temporal gaps within a vibrotactile target.
These gaps were filled with vibrotactile noise, and target vibration intensity was varied relative to noise intensity.

Main Results:

A vibrotactile continuity illusion was observed when target vibrations were weak relative to the noise.
The perceived illusory continuity was indistinguishable from physically continuous vibrations.

Conclusions:

The continuity illusion extends to the vibrotactile sensory modality.
This suggests that continuity perception is a fundamental principle shared across multiple sensory systems.