The sense of agency shapes body schema and peripersonal space

D'Angelo, Mariano; Pellegrino, Giuseppe di; Seriani, Stefano; Gallina, Paolo; Frassinetti, Francesca

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32238-z

Cited by 53 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Overall, these results suggest that actions can drive a potential modification of body metric representation per se, possibly because of the agency experienced during the training (D'Angelo, et al, 2018), that integrates with the morphological and functional features of the tool.…”

Section: Experiments 2 Short Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

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Different tool training induces specific effects on body metric representation

et al. 2018

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Morphology and functional aspects of the tool have been proposed to be critical factors modulating tooluse induced plasticity. However how these aspects contribute in changing body representation is underinvestigated. In the arm bisection task participants have to estimate the length of their own arm by indicating its midpoint, a paradigm used to investigate the representation of metric properties of the body. We employed this paradigm to investigate the impact of different actions onto tool embodiment. Our findings suggest that a training requiring actions mostly with proximal (shoulder) or distal (wrist) parts induces a different shift in the perceived arm midpoint. This effect is independent from, but enhanced by, the use of the tool during the training and it is in part influenced by specific demands of the task. These results suggest that specific motor patterns required by the training can induce different changes of body representation, calling for rethinking the concept of tool embodiment, which would be characterized not simply by the morphology of the tools, but also by the actions required for their specific use.

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Section: Experiments 2 Short Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…This effect is potentially related to the sense of agency modulated during the training. Indeed, it was recently shown that agency is involved in body schema and peripersonal space modulation (D'Angelo, et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different tool training induces specific effects on body metric representation

et al. 2018

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“…And this was enough for the perceived arm length increase to occur, or so the authors argued. In a similar vein, a very recent study on healthy subjects has demonstrated that body metric estimation can be modulated by the sense of agency (D’Angelo et al, 2018). Participants were asked to perform a forearm bisection task before and after a training phase, in which they virtually grasped objects and make precision grip by controlling a far 3D virtual hand.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

How Tool-Use Shapes Body Metric Representation: Evidence From Motor Training With and Without Robotic Assistance

Bruno

Carpinella

Rabuffetti

et al. 2019

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Previous evidence has shown that tool-use can reshape one’s own body schema, extending peripersonal space and modulating the representation of related body parts. Here, we investigated the role of tool action in shaping the body metric representation, by contrasting two different views. According to a first view, the shaping would rely on the mere execution of tool action, while the second view suggests that the shaping induced by tool action on body representation would primarily depend on the representation of the action goals to be accomplished. To this aim, we contrasted a condition in which participants voluntarily accomplish the movement by representing the program and goal of a tool action (i.e., active tool-use training) with a condition in which the tool-use training was produced without any prior goal representation (i.e., passive tool-use training by means of robotic assistance). If the body metric representation primarily depends on the coexistence between goal representation and bodily movements, we would expect an increase of the perceived forearm length in the post- with respect to the pre-training phase after the active training phase only. Healthy participants were asked to estimate the midpoint of their right forearm before and after 20 min of tool-use training. In the active condition, subjects performed “enfold-and-push” movements using a rake to prolong their arm. In the passive condition, subjects were asked to be completely relaxed while the movements were performed with robotic assistance. Results showed a significant increase in the perceived arm length in the post- with respect to the pre-training phase only in the active task. Interestingly, only in the post-training phase, a significant difference was found between active and passive conditions, with a higher perceived arm length in the former than in the latter. From a theoretical perspective, these findings suggest that tool-use may shape body metric representation only when action programs are motorically represented and not merely produced. From a clinical perspective, these results support the use of robots for the rehabilitation of brain-damaged hemiplegic patients, provided that robot assistance during the exercises is present only “as-needed” and that patients’ motor representation is actively involved.

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“…In the context of virtual reality, another study demonstrated that body metric estimation can be modulated by motor embodiment (D'Angelo et al, 2018). Participants were asked to perform a forearm bisection task before and after a training phase, in which they virtually grasped objects on a PC screen with a virtual hand.…”

Section: Tools and Virtual Realitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Embodiment of Objects: Review, Analysis, and Future Directions

2019

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Here we offer a thorough review of the empirical literature on the conditions under which an object, such as a tool or a prosthetic (whether real or virtual), can be experienced as being in some sense a part or extension of one's body. We discuss this literature both from the standpoint of the apparent malleability of our body representations, and also from within the framework of radical embodied cognition, which understands the phenomenon to result not from an alteration to a representation, but rather from the achievement of a certain kind of sensory/motor coupling. We highlight both the tensions between these frameworks, and also areas where they can productively complement one another for future research.

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The sense of agency shapes body schema and peripersonal space

Cited by 53 publications

References 51 publications

Different tool training induces specific effects on body metric representation

Different tool training induces specific effects on body metric representation

How Tool-Use Shapes Body Metric Representation: Evidence From Motor Training With and Without Robotic Assistance

The Embodiment of Objects: Review, Analysis, and Future Directions

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