Impact of visuomotor feedback on the embodiment of virtual hands detached from the body

Sofia Seinfeld,Jörg Müller

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-79255-5

Sofia Seinfeld, Jörg Müller

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79255-5

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Abstract

It has been shown that mere observation of body discontinuity leads to diminished body ownership. However, the impact of body discontinuity has mainly been investigated in conditions where participants observe a collocated static virtual body from a first-person perspective. This study explores the influence of body discountinuity on the sense of embodiment, when rich visuomotor correlations between a real and an artificial virtual body are established. In two experiments, we evaluated body ownership and motor performance, when participants interacted in virtual reality either using virtual hands connected or disconnected from a body. We found that even under the presence of congruent visuomotor feedback, mere observation of body discontinuity resulted in diminished embodiment. Contradictory evidence was found in relation to motor performance, where further research is needed to understand the role of visual body discontinuity in motor tasks. Preliminary findings on physiological reactions to a threat were also assessed, indicating that body visual discontinuity does not differently impact threat-related skin conductance responses. The present results are in accordance with past evidence showing that body discontinuity negatively impacts embodiment. However, further research is needed to understand the influence of visuomotor feedback and body morphological congruency on motor performance and threat-related physiological reactions.

Highlights

In Experiment 2 we further researched the impact of visual body discontinuity on embodiment and motor performance
Participants reported a higher feeling of Control (Coef = − 1.89, z = − 2.44, p = 0.02, 95% CI − 3.40 to -0.37) over the virtual hands when interacting through Connected hands (Mdn = 6, IQR = 1) compared to Disconnected hands (Mdn = 6, IQR = 1)
The Virtual Reality (VR) scene was perceived as significantly more Real (Coef = -2.04, z = − 2.12, p = 0.03, 95% CI − 3.93 to − 0.15) when interacting with Connected (Mdn = 6, IQR = 1) virtual hands compared to Disconnected (Mdn = 5, IQR = 2) ones

Summary

Introduction

In Experiment 2 we further researched the impact of visual body discontinuity on embodiment and motor performance. Experiment 2 was very similar to Experiment 1, with the difference that in this new study we recorded the location of the touched targets (i.e., cubes that lit up) and ensured that the level of difficulty of the motor task was equivalent between the experimental conditions. Experiment 2 followed the same experimental design as the one described in Experiment 1. A fully counterbalanced within-groups design experiment was carried out. The independent variable of this study was Body Visual Continuity, with participants interacting in an immersive virtual environment either using Connected or Disconnected virtual hands

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