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Tactile Gap Detection Deteriorates during Bimanual Symmetrical Movements under Mirror Visual Feedback
Janet H Bultitude1,2, Georgiana Juravle3, Charles Spence4
1Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, North East Somerset, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|January 6, 2016
Summary
Sensorimotor incongruence, the mismatch between motor intention and sensory input, can alter tactile sensitivity. Symmetrical movements with mirror visual feedback impaired tactile processing more than other conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Perception Science
- Human Motor Control
Background:
- Sensorimotor incongruence, a mismatch between motor commands and sensory feedback, is hypothesized to cause pain and sensory abnormalities.
- Previous studies suggest that induced sensorimotor conflict can exacerbate pain and sensory symptoms in individuals with painful conditions and induce anomalous sensations in healthy volunteers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of sensorimotor incongruence on tactile perception using mirror visual feedback.
- To examine how manipulating sensory and motor signals affects responses to external tactile stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed symmetrical or asymmetrical movements of their right arm while observing their left arm's reflection in a mirror or an opaque board.
- Tactile sensitivity to gaps in stimulation on the right forearm was assessed under different visual feedback conditions (mirror, opaque board, no visual feedback).
Main Results:
- Contrary to predictions, tactile sensitivity was not reduced by asymmetrical movements during mirror visual feedback.
- Tactile sensitivity was significantly reduced during symmetrical movements with mirror visual feedback compared to other conditions.
- Asymmetrical movements with mirror visual feedback did not impair tactile processing, possibly due to larger sensory-motor discrepancies preventing integration.
Conclusions:
- Small discrepancies in sensory-motor information, as seen in symmetrical movements with mirror visual feedback, can impair tactile processing.
- Larger discrepancies, as with asymmetrical movements, may prevent sensory-motor integration, thus not impacting tactile processing.
- Findings align with a forward model interpretation of perceptual modulation during goal-directed movements, despite contrasting with some previous reports.
