Lloyd, DM, Gillis, V, Lewis, E et al. (2 more authors) (2013) Pleasant touch moderates the subjective but not objective aspects of body perception. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 7. Article 207.
Abstract
Un-myelinated C tactile afferents (CT afferents) are a key finding in affective touch. These fibers, which activate in response to a caress-like touch to hairy skin (CT afferents are not found in palm skin), may have more in common with interoceptive systems encoding body ownership, than afferent systems processing other tactile stimuli. We tested whether subjective embodiment of a rubber hand (measured through questionnaire items) was increased when tactile stimulation was applied to the back of the hand at a rate optimal for CT afferents (3 cm/s) vs. stimulation of glabrous skin (on the palm of the hand) or at a non-optimal rate (30 cm/s), which should not activate these fibers. We also collected ratings of tactile pleasantness and a measure of perceived limb position, proprioceptive drift, which is mediated by different mechanisms of multisensory integration than those responsible for feelings of ownership. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that proprioceptive drift was a significant predictor of subjective strength of the illusion when tactile stimuli were applied to the back of the hand, regardless of stroking speed. This relationship was modified by pleasantness, with higher ratings when stimulation was applied to the back of the hand at the slower vs. faster stroking speed. Pleasantness was also a unique predictor of illusion strength when fast stroking was applied to the palm of the hand. However, there were no conditions under which pleasantness was a significant predictor of drift. Since the illusion was demonstrated at a non-optimal stroking speed an integrative role for CT afferents within the illusion cannot be fully supported. Pleasant touch, however, does moderate the subjective aspects of the rubber hand illusion, which under certain tactile conditions may interact with proprioceptive information about the body or have a unique influence on subjective body perception.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright (c) 2013 Lloyd, Gillis, Lewis, Farrell and Morrison. This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. It is reproduced with permission. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
Keywords: | CT afferents; insula; pleasant touch; proprioceptive drift; rubber hand illusion |
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: | 11 Jul 2016 09:22 |
Last Modified: | 11 Jul 2016 09:22 |
Published Version: | http://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00207 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00207 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88763 |