Abstract
Behavioral and neurophysiological findings in vision suggest that perceptual grouping is not a unitary process and that different grouping principles have different processing requirements and neural correlates. The present study aims to examine whether the same occurs in the haptic modality using two grouping principles widely studied in vision, spatial proximity and texture similarity. We analyzed behavioral responses (accuracy and response times) and conducted an independent component analysis of brain oscillations in alpha and beta bands for haptic stimuli grouped by spatial proximity and texture similarity, using a speeded orientation detection task performed on a novel haptic device (MonHap). Behavioral results showed faster response times for patterns grouped by spatial proximity relative to texture similarity. Independent component clustering analysis revealed the activation of a bilateral network of sensorimotor and parietal areas while performing the task. We conclude that, as occurs in visual perception, grouping the elements of the haptic scene by means of their spatial proximity is faster than forming the same objects by means of texture similarity. In addition, haptic grouping seems to involve the activation of a network of widely distributed bilateral sensorimotor and parietal areas as reflected by the consistent event-related desynchronization found in alpha and beta bands.
Highlights
Perceptual grouping refers to “the fact that observers perceive some elements of the visual field as going together more strongly than others” [1]
Participants detected the orientation of patterns faster when they were grouped by proximity (M = 1378 ms, SD = 222) than when they were grouped by texture similarity (M = 1920 ms, SD = 534)
The present study replicates in the haptic modality behavioral findings in the visual modality, showing faster response times (RTs) for the stimuli grouped by proximity than for those grouped by similarity
Summary
Perceptual grouping refers to “the fact that observers perceive some elements of the visual field as going together more strongly than others” [1]. Research efforts addressing the specific principles that determine how perceptual grouping occurs and the mechanisms that govern its operation have focused primarily on vision and audition, where grouping principles have been relatively well established [1,2]. Little research has been conducted to investigate whether these perceptual grouping principles apply to the sense of touch. There are, at least, three main reasons: First, the early claims about the lack of applicability of the Gestalt principles to touch [3]; second, the serial nature of tactile exploration, and third, difficulties related to the controlled presentation of the stimuli and response registration.
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