Whose hand is this? Handedness and visual perspective modulate self/other discrimination.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Human Perception
• Body Ownership

Background:

• Understanding the sense of self and body ownership is crucial in cognitive neuroscience.
• Distinguishing self from non-self body parts relies on complex perceptual and cognitive processes.
• The role of visual perspective (egocentric vs. allocentric) in body part recognition remains an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how visual perspective influences the recognition of one's own and others' hands.
• To determine if hand dominance affects self-recognition and the processing of others' hands.
• To explore the reference frame used to differentiate self from non-self body parts.

Main Methods:

• Healthy participants viewed images of hands presented from egocentric and allocentric perspectives.
• Reaction times were measured for recognizing own versus others' hands.
• Hand dominance (dominant vs. non-dominant) was considered for both self and other hands.

Main Results:

• Participants were quicker to recognize their own dominant hand in the egocentric view.
• Recognition of others' non-dominant hand was faster in the allocentric perspective.
• These results indicate a preference for specific reference frames based on hand dominance and perspective.

Conclusions:

• Body-specific information, particularly hand dominance, significantly contributes to the sense of body ownership.
• The 'peri-dominant-hand space' appears to be a critical reference frame for distinguishing self from non-self body parts.
• Visual perspective and hand dominance interact to shape self-recognition and body part perception.