Abstract
The existence of a common mechanism for visual and haptic representations has been reported in object perception. In contrast, representations of movements might be more specific to modalities. Referring to the vertical axis is natural for visual representations whereas a fixed reference axis might be inappropriate for haptic movements and thus also inappropriate for its representations in the brain. The present study found that visual and haptic movement representations are processed independently. A psychophysical experiment examining mental rotation revealed the well-known effect of rotation angle for visual representations whereas no such effect was found for haptic representations. We also found no interference between processes for visual and haptic movements in an experiment where different stimuli were presented simultaneously through visual and haptic modalities. These results strongly suggest that (1) there are separate representations of visual and haptic movements, and (2) the haptic process has a rotation-independent representation.
Highlights
The existence of a common mechanism for visual and haptic representations has been reported in object perception
Different representations for haptic movements from visual ones likely have an advantage in body movement control without the restriction of a coordinate system fixed to the visual system: The visual system usually uses a coordinate system referring to the vertical axis as the normal, while the motor process has its own coordinate system for movement control as suggested by the difference in subjective vertical between vision and haptics[2,3]
This study indicated that no cost is required to use haptic movement representations with an angle different from a memorized one
Summary
The existence of a common mechanism for visual and haptic representations has been reported in object perception. W e move our hands and arms to write, draw, and gesture, referring to representations of actions and/or images in memory, which can be obtained through active/passive haptic movements or through visual information on another person’s movements Both visual and haptic inputs can be used for haptic movements. To transform someone’s action into self-action, haptic representations independent of visual representations potentially play an important role because visual representations are usually related to physical space/ objects and are often viewpoint-dependent Despite this importance, no study, to the best of our knowledge, has examined whether a modality-specific or multimodal process contributes to movement representations. We might not obtain a similar effect for haptic stimuli because haptic information without reference to a particular axis is possibly advantageous for controlling limb movements This contrasts with object recognition, where haptic and visual representations have the benefit of sharing the same coordinate system independent of source modality
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
