Wittkopf, PG, Lloyd, DM and Johnson, MI (2017) Changing the size of a mirror reflected hand moderates the experience of embodiment but not proprioceptive drift: a repeated measures study on healthy human participants. Experimental Brain Research, 235 (6). pp. 1933-1944. ISSN 0014-4819
Abstract
Mirror visual feedback is used for reducing pain and visually distorting the size of the reflection may improve efficacy. The findings of studies investigating size distortion are inconsistent. The influence of the size of the reflected hand on embodiment of the mirror reflection is not known. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of magnifying and minifying mirror reflections of the hand on embodiment measured using an eight-item questionnaire and on proprioceptive drift. During the experiment, participants (n = 45) placed their right hand behind a mirror and their left hand in front of a mirror. Participants watched a normal-sized, a magnified and a minified reflection of the left hand while performing synchronised finger movements for 3 min (adaptive phase). Measurements of embodiment were taken before (pre) and after (post) synchronous movements of the fingers of both hands (embodiment adaptive phase). Results revealed larger proprioceptive drift post-adaptive phase (p = 0.001). Participants agreed more strongly with questionnaire items associated with location, ownership and agency of the reflection of the hand post-adaptive phase (p < 0.001) and when looking at the normal-sized reflection (p < 0.001). In conclusion, irrespective of size, watching a reflection of the hand while performing synchronised movements enhances the embodiment of the reflection of the hand. Magnifying and minifying the reflection of the hand has little effect on proprioceptive drift, but it weakens the subjective embodiment experience. Such factors need to be taken into account in future studies using this technique, particularly when assessing mirror visual feedback for pain management.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2017. Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | Embodiment; Size distortion; Mirror visual feedback; Multisensory integration |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Mar 2017 15:58 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 22:25 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-017-4930-7 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s00221-017-4930-7 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:113579 |