Editorial

4 pages, 203 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

by Mariella Pazzaglia

Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 277; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci12020277 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1608

Our bodily experience arises primarily from the integration of sensory, interoceptive, and motor signals and is mapped directly into the sensorimotor cortices [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

Research

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8 pages, 671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intentional Binding Effects in the Experience of Noticing the Regularity of a Perceptual-Motor Task

by Kazuki Hayashida, Yuki Nishi, Akihiro Masuike and Shu Morioka

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(9), 659; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10090659 - 22 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3927

Abstract

Noticing the regularity of the task is necessary to enhance motor performance. The experience of noticing further motivates improvement in motor performance. Motor control is explained by a comparator model that modifies the motor command to reduce discrepancies between sensory predictions and actual [...] Read more.

Noticing the regularity of the task is necessary to enhance motor performance. The experience of noticing further motivates improvement in motor performance. Motor control is explained by a comparator model that modifies the motor command to reduce discrepancies between sensory predictions and actual outcomes. A similar model could apply to sense of agency (SoA). SoA refers to the sensation of controlling one’s own actions and, through them, the outcomes in the external world. SoA may also be enhanced by the experience of noticing errors. We recently reported gradual enhancement of SoA in participants with high perceptual-motor performance. However, what component of the motor task changed the SoA is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the influence over time of the experience of noticing during a motor task on SoA. Participants performed an implicit regularity perceptual-motor task and an intentional binding task (a method that can quantitatively measure SoA) simultaneously. We separated participants into groups after the experiment based on noticing or not noticing the regularity. SoA was gradually enhanced in the noticing group, compared with that of the non-noticing group. The results suggest that the experience of noticing may enhance SoA during perceptual-motor tasks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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12 pages, 500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Is Visual Creativity Embodied? Thinking Aloud While Performing the Creative Mental Synthesis Task

by Massimiliano Palmiero and Laura Piccardi

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(7), 455; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10070455 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3507

Abstract

Over time, the view that creativity is embodied has emerged. In order to explore if visual creativity is supported by embodied mechanisms, the simulation approach was used as a framework of reference. The idea that visual creativity relies on mental representations that implement [...] Read more.

Over time, the view that creativity is embodied has emerged. In order to explore if visual creativity is supported by embodied mechanisms, the simulation approach was used as a framework of reference. The idea that visual creativity relies on mental representations that implement motor processes was faced. Participants were instructed to think aloud while carrying out the Creative Mental Synthesis Task, which allows to form pre-inventive structures and interpret them according to a specific category. Two independent judges scored verbal protocols in terms of the number of motor, spatial, and visual thoughts reported during the pre-inventive and inventive phases, and also evaluated the final objects according to originality and appropriateness. Originality was predicted positively by inventive motor thoughts and by pre-inventive spatial thoughts, but negatively by inventive spatial thoughts; appropriateness was only predicted by inventive visual thoughts. These results suggest that actions for future object utilization were simulated while interpreting pre-inventive structures, increasing originality of objects. In addition, spatial transformations are useful to construct the pre-inventive structures, but not to interpret them. Yet, thinking of the pictorial details of the object is also essential to classify it in a given category. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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10 pages, 1616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Emotional Landmarks in Embodied and Not-Embodied Tasks

by Laura Piccardi, Paola Guariglia, Raffaella Nori and Massimiliano Palmiero

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(2), 58; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10020058 - 21 Jan 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3342

Abstract

The role of emotional landmarks in navigation has been scarcely studied. Previous findings showed that valence and arousal of landmarks increase landmark’s salience and improve performance in navigational memory tasks. However, no study has directly explored the interplay between valence and arousal of [...] Read more.

The role of emotional landmarks in navigation has been scarcely studied. Previous findings showed that valence and arousal of landmarks increase landmark’s salience and improve performance in navigational memory tasks. However, no study has directly explored the interplay between valence and arousal of emotionally laden landmarks in embodied and not-embodied navigational tasks. At the aim, 115 college students have been subdivided in five groups according to the landmarks they were exposed (High Positive Landmarks HPL; Low Positive Landmarks LPL; High Negative Landmarks HNL; Low Negative Landmarks LNL and Neutral Landmarks NeuL). In the embodied tasks participants were asked to learn a path in a first-person perspective and to recall it after five minutes, whereas in the not-embodied tasks participants were asked to track the learned path on a silent map and to recognize landmarks among distractors. Results highlighted firstly the key role of valence in the embodied task related to the immediate learning, but not to the delayed recall of the path, probably because of the short retention interval used. Secondly, results showed the importance of the interplay between valence and arousal in the non-embodied tasks, specifically, neutral and high negative emotional landmarks yielded the lowest performance probably because of the avoidance learning effect. Implications for future research directions are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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21 pages, 2683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Motor Program Transformation of Throwing Dart from the Third-Person Perspective

by Alexey Tumialis, Alexey Smirnov, Kirill Fadeev, Tatiana Alikovskaia, Pavel Khoroshikh, Alexander Sergievich and Kirill Golokhvast

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(1), 55; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10010055 - 18 Jan 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4035

Abstract

The perspective of perceiving one’s action affects its speed and accuracy. In the present study, we investigated the change in accuracy and kinematics when subjects throw darts from the first-person perspective and the third-person perspective with varying angles of view. To model the [...] Read more.

The perspective of perceiving one’s action affects its speed and accuracy. In the present study, we investigated the change in accuracy and kinematics when subjects throw darts from the first-person perspective and the third-person perspective with varying angles of view. To model the third-person perspective, subjects were looking at themselves as well as the scene through the virtual reality head-mounted display (VR HMD). The scene was supplied by a video feed from the camera located to the up and 0, 20 and 40 degrees to the right behind the subjects. The 28 subjects wore a motion capture suit to register their right hand displacement, velocity and acceleration, as well as torso rotation during the dart throws. The results indicated that mean accuracy shifted in opposite direction with the changes of camera location in vertical axis and in congruent direction in horizontal axis. Kinematic data revealed a smaller angle of torso rotation to the left in all third-person perspective conditions before and during the throw. The amplitude, speed and acceleration in third-person condition were lower compared to the first-person view condition, before the peak velocity of the hand in the direction toward the target and after the peak velocity in lowering the hand. Moreover, the hand movement angle was smaller in the third-person perspective conditions with 20 and 40 angle of view, compared with the first-person perspective condition just preceding the time of peak velocity, and the difference between conditions predicted the changes in mean accuracy of the throws. Thus, the results of this study revealed that subject’s localization contributed to the transformation of the motor program. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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14 pages, 1136 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Audiohaptic Feedback Enhances Motor Performance in a Low-Fidelity Simulated Drilling Task

by Brianna L. Grant, Paul C. Yielder, Tracey A. Patrick, Bill Kapralos, Michael Williams-Bell and Bernadette A. Murphy

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(1), 21; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10010021 - 31 Dec 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2808

Abstract

When used in educational settings, simulations utilizing virtual reality (VR) technologies can reduce training costs while providing a safe and effective learning environment. Tasks can be easily modified to maximize learning objectives of different levels of trainees (e.g., novice, intermediate, expert), and can [...] Read more.

When used in educational settings, simulations utilizing virtual reality (VR) technologies can reduce training costs while providing a safe and effective learning environment. Tasks can be easily modified to maximize learning objectives of different levels of trainees (e.g., novice, intermediate, expert), and can be repeated for the development of psychomotor skills. VR offers a multisensory experience, providing visual, auditory, and haptic sensations with varying levels of fidelity. While simulating visual and auditory stimuli is relatively easy and cost-effective, similar representations of haptic sensation still require further development. Evidence suggests that mixing high- and low-fidelity realistic sensations (e.g., audition and haptic) can improve the overall perception of realism, however, whether this also leads to improved performance has not been examined. The current study examined whether audiohaptic stimuli presented in a virtual drilling task can lead to improved motor performance and subjective realism, compared to auditory stimuli alone. Right-handed participants (n = 16) completed 100 drilling trials of each stimulus type. Performance measures indicated that participants overshot the target during auditory trials, and undershot the target during audiohaptic trials. Undershooting is thought to be indicative of improved performance, optimizing both time and energy requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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15 pages, 1385 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Muscle-Specific Modulation of Spinal Reflexes in Lower-Limb Muscles during Action Observation with and without Motor Imagery of Walking

by Naotsugu Kaneko, Yohei Masugi, Noboru Usuda, Hikaru Yokoyama and Kimitaka Nakazawa

Brain Sci. 2019, 9(12), 333; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci9120333 - 21 Nov 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3819

Abstract

Action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) are useful techniques in neurorehabilitation. Previous studies have reported that AO and MI facilitate corticospinal excitability only in those muscles that are active when actually performing the observed or imagined movements. However, it remained unclear whether [...] Read more.

Action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) are useful techniques in neurorehabilitation. Previous studies have reported that AO and MI facilitate corticospinal excitability only in those muscles that are active when actually performing the observed or imagined movements. However, it remained unclear whether spinal reflexes modulate multiple muscles simultaneously. The present study focused on AO and MI of walking and aimed to clarify their effects on spinal reflexes in lower-limb muscles that are recruited during actual walking. Ten healthy males participated in the present study. Spinal reflex parameters evoked by transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation were measured from five lower-limb muscles during rest, AO, and AO combined with MI (AO + MI) conditions. Our results showed that spinal reflexes were increased in the tibialis anterior and biceps femoris muscles during AO and in the tibialis anterior, soleus, and medial gastrocnemius muscles during AO + MI, compared with resting condition. Spinal reflex parameters in the vastus medialis muscle were unchanged. These results indicate the muscle-specific modulations of spinal reflexes during AO and AO + MI. These findings reveal the underlying neural activities induced by AO, MI, and their combined processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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Other

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10 pages, 825 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Intervention Using Body Shadow to Evoke Loading Imagery in a Patient with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in the Foot: A Case Report

by Yoshiyuki Hirakawa, Ryota Imai, Hayato Shigetoh and Shu Morioka

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(10), 718; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10100718 - 09 Oct 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2780

Abstract

We present the case of a female patient who developed complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) after a right-foot injury. The patient had pain from the right knee to the toes and showed severe disgust at the appearance of the affected limb. Consequently, the [...] Read more.

We present the case of a female patient who developed complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) after a right-foot injury. The patient had pain from the right knee to the toes and showed severe disgust at the appearance of the affected limb. Consequently, the affected limb was not fully loaded, and the patient had difficulty walking. General interventions, such as mirror therapy, were attempted, but the effect was limited. We hypothesized that this was due to the disgust toward the affected limb, and we implemented a body-shadow intervention that we developed. This reduced the disgust for the affected limb and improved pain, but neither changed the anticipated pain of loading the affected limb nor improved the patient’s walking ability. The reason for this was considered to be that the previous interventions using the body shadow utilized the third-person perspective, denoting that the image of the load sensation on the sole of the foot during walking was insufficient; therefore, we attempted a first-person body-shadow intervention. The results showed improvement in the patient’s walking ability. In CRPS of the foot, it is important to use interventions that evoke images of loading without causing anticipatory pain, pointing to the effectiveness of body-shadow interventions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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11 pages, 1158 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Dynamic Relationship between Sense of Agency and Post-Stroke Sensorimotor Deficits: A Longitudinal Case Study

by Yu Miyawaki, Takeshi Otani and Shu Morioka

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(5), 294; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10050294 - 15 May 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4593

Abstract

Post-stroke sensorimotor deficits impair voluntary movements. This impairment may alter a person’s sense of agency, which is the awareness of controlling one’s actions. A previous study showed that post-stroke patients incorrectly aligned themselves with others’ movements and proposed that their misattributions might be [...] Read more.

Post-stroke sensorimotor deficits impair voluntary movements. This impairment may alter a person’s sense of agency, which is the awareness of controlling one’s actions. A previous study showed that post-stroke patients incorrectly aligned themselves with others’ movements and proposed that their misattributions might be associated with their sensorimotor deficits. To investigate this hypothesis, the present study compared the agency dynamics in a post-stroke patient A (PA) with sensorimotor deficits, who rarely used her paretic upper limbs in her daily life to patient B (PB), who had a paretic upper limb with almost normal functions and activity. At the second, fourth, and eighth weeks following their strokes, PA and PB completed experiments where they performed horizontal movements while receiving visual feedback, and analyzed if the visual feedback represented their own or another’s movements. Consequently, PB made no misattributions each week; whereas, PA made incorrect self-attributions of other’s movements at the fourth week. Interestingly, this misattribution noticeably decreased at the eighth week, where PA, with an improved paretic upper limb, used her limb almost as much as before her stroke. These results suggest that the sense of agency alters according to the sensorimotor deficit severity and paretic upper limb activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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9 pages, 236 KiB

Open AccessOpinion

Acquisition of Ownership Illusion with Self-Disownership in Neurological Patients

by Mariella Pazzaglia, Anna Maria Giannini and Francesca Federico

Brain Sci. 2020, 10(3), 170; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci10030170 - 15 Mar 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3342

Abstract

The multisensory regions in frontoparietal cortices play a crucial role in the sense of body and self. Disrupting this sense may lead to a feeling of disembodiment, or more generally, a sense of disownership. Experimentally, this altered consciousness disappears during illusory own-body perceptions, [...] Read more.

The multisensory regions in frontoparietal cortices play a crucial role in the sense of body and self. Disrupting this sense may lead to a feeling of disembodiment, or more generally, a sense of disownership. Experimentally, this altered consciousness disappears during illusory own-body perceptions, increasing the intensity of perceived ownership for an external virtual limb. In many clinical conditions, particularly in individuals with a discontinuous or absent sense of bodily awareness, the brain may effortlessly create a convincing feeling of body ownership over a surrogate body or body part. The immediate visual input dominates the current bodily state and induces rapid plastic adaptation that reconfigures the dynamics of bodily representation, allowing the brain to acquire an alternative sense of body and self. Investigating strategies to deconstruct the lack of a normal sense of bodily ownership, especially after a neurological injury, may aid the selection of appropriate clinical treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Body in Brain Plasticity)

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