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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator TSPAS

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator TSPAS

Published on: July 30, 2020

Movement preparation improves touch perception without awareness.

Freek van Ede¹, Thomas I van Doren¹, Jochem Damhuis¹

¹Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, The Netherlands.

|February 16, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Preparing for movement enhances external touch perception, suggesting attention is automatically directed to the planned action site. This perceptual improvement occurs unconsciously, ensuring efficient processing of environmental stimuli.

Keywords:

Attention Awareness Movement Preparation Somatosensory Touch

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Last Updated: Apr 17, 2026

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Published on: July 30, 2020

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Published on: September 18, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Somatosensory Research

Background:

Movement planning is crucial for interacting with external objects.
The influence of movement preparation on identifying external somatosensory stimuli remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how preparing for a movement affects the perception of external somatosensory stimuli.
To determine if movement preparation facilitates or attenuates external touch identification.

Main Methods:

Participants prepared for a speeded button press with their thumb.
A somatosensory stimulus was presented to either the same or opposite thumb.
Touch identification accuracy was measured.

Main Results:

Movement preparation significantly facilitated the identification of external somatosensory stimuli.
Perceptual improvement occurred without a corresponding increase in confidence.
This suggests an unconscious facilitatory process.

Conclusions:

Movement preparation automatically allocates attentional resources to the body part involved in the planned action.
Perceptual enhancement of external stimuli during movement preparation is an unconscious process.
This unconscious facilitation optimizes processing of relevant environmental information.