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Task demands affect spatial reference frame weighting during tactile localization in sighted and congenitally blind
Jonathan T W Schubert1, Stephanie Badde1,2, Brigitte Röder1
1Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Plos One
|December 12, 2017
Summary
Congenitally blind individuals, like sighted people, integrate anatomical and external spatial information for touch localization. However, blindness enhances the ability to focus tactile attention, reducing distractor interference.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
- Human Factors
Background:
- Task demands influence tactile localization in sighted individuals by integrating anatomical and external spatial cues.
- Previous research suggested congenitally blind individuals primarily use skin-based information, lacking automatic spatial integration.
- The role of developmental vision in the automatic spatial integration of tactile information remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interplay of anatomical and external location codes in tactile localization for sighted and congenitally blind individuals.
- To examine how varying hand posture and task instructions modulate spatial congruency effects in tactile perception.
- To determine if congenitally blind individuals automatically integrate spatial information during tactile localization.
Main Methods:
- Participants (sighted and congenitally blind) localized tactile targets on one hand while ignoring distractors on the other.
- Hand posture was manipulated (both palms down vs. one palm up/down) to create anatomical and external location conflicts.
- Participants reported target locations either anatomically (palm/back) or externally (up/down).
Main Results:
- Both sighted and blind individuals showed enhanced performance for congruent target-distractor pairs under both anatomical and external instructions.
- Distractor effects were significantly smaller in blind participants compared to sighted participants.
- Congenitally blind individuals demonstrated sensitivity to hand posture and task instructions, indicating automatic spatial integration.
Conclusions:
- Congenitally blind individuals, like sighted individuals, automatically integrate anatomical and external spatial information for tactile localization.
- The absence of developmental vision is associated with an enhanced ability to focus tactile attention, reducing distractor interference.
- Tactile spatial integration is flexibly modulated by top-down information, such as task instructions, even without developmental vision.
