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The medium of haptic perception: a tensegrity hypothesis
Michael T Turvey1, Sérgio T Fonseca
1a Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action , University of Connecticut , Storrs.
Journal of Motor Behavior
|March 18, 2014
Summary
The haptic system
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
Background:
- The haptic perceptual system lacks a defined medium, unlike other sensory systems.
- Understanding the haptic system's medium is crucial for comprehending body perception and interaction with the environment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize the medium of the haptic perceptual system.
- To propose a biophysical model for the body's connective tissue, muscular, and skeletal system (MCS).
Main Methods:
- Focusing on connective tissue and the muscular, connective tissue net, and skeletal (MCS) system.
- Developing a biophysical formulation of MCS as a homogeneous and isotropic continuum.
- Hypothesizing a multifractal tensegrity (MFT) model for MCS structure and stability.
Main Results:
- The multifractal tensegrity (MFT) model explains the shape and stability of MCS constituents across scales.
- Tensions within the MFT network serve as information carriers about the MCS.
- The MFT hypothesis extends to body-brain connections and various perceptual phenomena.
Conclusions:
- The body's connective tissue, muscular, and skeletal system (MCS) functions as the haptic system's medium.
- The multifractal tensegrity (MFT) model provides a framework for understanding haptic perception and its relation to the body's physical structure.
- This framework has implications for understanding phenomena like phantom limb sensations and sensory disturbances.
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