Tool-use: An open window into body representation and its plasticity

Martel, Marie; Cardinali, Lucilla; Roy, Alice C.; Farnè, Alessandro

doi:10.1080/02643294.2016.1167678

Cited by 137 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 155 publications

(245 reference statements)

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“…The Crossmodal Congruency task (CCT) was conducted with an adapted version of the materials and procedures used by Maravita and his colleagues [42]. This task has been widely used to measure changes in peripersonal space that arise from active tool-use [36, 44]. There were four Sets of the CCT across the entire session: passive, active 1, active 2, and active 3.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…by casting [25]) or permanently (e.g. by amputation [11,38]), or as we interact with objects [17,36,40,44,46,64]. One paradigm that demonstrates the malleability of bodily and spatial representations is tool-use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One paradigm that demonstrates the malleability of bodily and spatial representations is tool-use. Tool-use causes the multisensory representations of the body and peripersonal space to update [13,40,44], whereby the nervous system changes the way it uses sensory information to enable tools to become functional and sensory extensions of the body [49]. For example, using rake-like tools leads to a perceived lengthening of arm and extends peripersonal space towards the distal end of the tool [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterising sensorimotor adaptation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Vitterso

Buckingham²,

Halicka

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Distorted representations of the body and peripersonal space are common in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), and might modulate its symptoms (e.g. asymmetric limb temperature). In pain-free people, such representations are malleable, and update when we interact with objects in our environment (e.g. during tool-use). Distortions are also common after immobilisation, but quickly normalise once movement is regained. We tested the hypothesis that people with CRPS have problems updating bodily and spatial representations, which contributes to the maintenance of their distorted representations by preventing normalization. We also explored spatially defined modulations of hand temperature asymmetries, and any influence of updating bodily and spatial representations on this effect. Thirty-six people with unilateral CRPS (18 upper limb, 18 lower limb) and 36 pain-free controls completed tool-use tasks considered to alter body and peripersonal space representations (measured using tactile distance judgements and a visuotactile crossmodal congruency task, respectively). We also tested how the arrangement (crossed, uncrossed) of the hands and tools affected hand temperature. In upper limb CRPS the non-affected arm representation updated normally, but the affected arm representation updated in the opposite to normal direction. A similar pattern was seen in lower limbs CRPS, although not significant. Furthermore, people with CRPS showed more pronounced updating of peripersonal space than the controls. We did not observe any modulation of hand temperature asymmetries by the arrangement of hands or tools. Our findings suggest enhanced malleability of bodily and spatial representations in CRPS, potentially implicating central mechanisms in the aetiology of this condition.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterising sensorimotor adaptation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Vitterso

Buckingham²,

Halicka

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Thus, a neural-based explanation for our findings should account for the integration among visual and tactile senses [35]. A possible mechanism which deserves inspection relies on neurophysiological and behavioral evidence suggesting that during tool use, there is an expansion of visuotactile receptive fields in parietal and pre-motor regions to the spatial limits of the tool (for review see [36, 37]. Enlarged visual feedback of the hands also results in transient plastic enlargement of visuo-tactile receptive fields in such regions [38, 39] to encompass the enlarged hands and nearby peri-personal space [40, 41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short Term Motor-Skill Acquisition Improves with Size of Self-Controlled Virtual Hands

Ossmy

Mukamel

2017

PLoS ONE

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Visual feedback in general, and from the body in particular, is known to influence the performance of motor skills in humans. However, it is unclear how the acquisition of motor skills depends on specific visual feedback parameters such as the size of performing effector. Here, 21 healthy subjects physically trained to perform sequences of finger movements with their right hand. Through the use of 3D Virtual Reality devices, visual feedback during training consisted of virtual hands presented on the screen, tracking subject’s hand movements in real time. Importantly, the setup allowed us to manipulate the size of the displayed virtual hands across experimental conditions. We found that performance gains increase with the size of virtual hands. In contrast, when subjects trained by mere observation (i.e., in the absence of physical movement), manipulating the size of the virtual hand did not significantly affect subsequent performance gains. These results demonstrate that when it comes to short-term motor skill learning, the size of visual feedback matters. Furthermore, these results suggest that highest performance gains in individual subjects are achieved when the size of the virtual hand matches their real hand size. These results may have implications for optimizing motor training schemes.

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“…This reanchoring of PHS in one handers, and the finding of greater P[M]HS activity in one handers compared to amputees, can be interpreted differently under two existing frameworks. First, considering the evidence for PHS as an interface for effector-centred representation, and the suggested remapping of PHS during prosthesis (Canzoneri, Marzolla, Amoresano, Verni, & Serino, 2013) and tool use (Martel, Cardinali, Roy, & Farnè, 2016) the increased use of the handless arm in one-handers should lead to a greater representation of P[M]HS in one-handers compared to acquired amputees. This interpretation is consistent with recent findings showing that high daily usage of the residual arm in one handers associates with increased arm representation in the sensorimotor system (Hahamy et al., 2015, Hahamy et al, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%