Abstract
We report two experiments in which non-informative vision of the finger enhanced tactile acuity on the fingertip. The right index finger was passively lifted to contact a grating. Twelve participants judged orientations of tactile gratings while viewing either the fingertip, or a neutral object presented via a mirror at the fingertip's location. In Expt. 1, tactile orientation discrimination for near-threshold gratings was improved when viewing the fingertip, compared to viewing the neutral object. Experiment 2 examined the temporal persistence of this effect, and found significant visual–tactile enhancement when a dark interval of up to 10 s intervened between viewing the finger and tactile stimulation. These results suggest that viewing the body modulates the neural circuitry of primary somatosensory cortex, outlasting visual inputs.
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