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Manipulating Bodily Presence Affects Cross-Modal Spatial Attention: A Virtual-Reality-Based ERP Study.
Ville J Harjunen1, Imtiaj Ahmed2, Giulio Jacucci2
1Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, Department of Computer Science, Aalto UniversityEspoo, Finland; Social Psychology, Department of Social Research, University of HelsinkiHelsinki, Finland.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|March 10, 2017
Summary
The presence of hands, real or virtual, enhances cross-modal attention between vision and touch by modulating early and late sensory processing. This bodily presence impacts attention-related brain responses, particularly during response inhibition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Cross-modal interactions between vision and touch are crucial for spatial attention.
- The influence of bodily self-perception on these interactions remains an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how visual cues of the body, specifically hands, affect visuo-tactile interactions in endogenous spatial attention.
- To determine the temporal dynamics of these effects using event-related potentials (ERPs).
Main Methods:
- Utilized a bimodal oddball task with visual and tactile stimuli in virtual reality (VR) and non-VR conditions.
- Manipulated the presence or absence of visible hands (real or virtual) during the task.
- Recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) to analyze neural responses.
Main Results:
- The presence of hands (real or virtual) modulated early and late ERP components (N140, P200, N200) related to sensory processing and response inhibition.
- Somatosensory N200 was enhanced when virtual hands were present, suggesting improved response inhibition.
- No significant impact on later attention and memory-related P3 activity was observed.
Conclusions:
- Bodily presence significantly influences sustained cross-modal spatial attention between vision and touch.
- These effects are observable in ERPs associated with early/late sensory processing and response inhibition.
- Virtual reality technology, including head-mounted displays, can be reliably used for ERP measurements without compromising signal robustness.
