Spatial numerical estimation within proprioceptive recalibration

Abstract

Research has emphasized that the body's position in space and patterns of visual searching for stimuli are crucial variables to explain the ability to estimate distances numerically. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that proprioception recalibration interferes in the ability to numerically estimate fixed peri-personal space. The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) experimental paradigm was applied as a tool to temporally manipulate the sense of proprioception in participant’s right hand. Seventeen college students were asked to estimate fixed horizontal spatial cues before and after two conditions of tactile stimulation within RHI (synchronous versus asynchronous stroking). Results evidenced that proprioceptive recalibration of the hand were temporally altered by both stroking patterns. However, the effects of numerically estimate fixed horizontal cues towards the body midline were only consistently observed in the synchronous stroking condition. Those findings suggest that numerical estimates of peri-personal fixed cues are strongly associated with proprioceptive recalibration, corroborating the literature on multisensory integration of perception.