DC] The Modulation of Peripersonal Space Boundaries in Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract

A plethora of neurocognitive research suggests that the brain segments space into near and far space, known as peripersonal and extrapersonal space. For the purpose of this dissertation, we focus on peripersonal space, which can be categorized as the functional reaching and grasping distance around oneself. There are neurons in the parietal and frontal premotor cortices in the brain that expressly process multisensory stimuli within peripersonal space, and neurophysiological and neuropsychological studies along with fMRI data have produced results that demonstrate this to be biological fact (for a full review, see di Pellegrino [5]). There are some studies have branched out, using immersive virtual environments to determine the modulation of peripersonal space, and in this body of work there is strong evidence that it is modulated by several different social factors [5]. However, to our knowledge, this work has not been extended to encompass a full understanding of the different factors that affect peripersonal space and how it behaves in immersive environments and there is still much to be done in this territory.