Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, England.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 29;7(1):9665. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08797-y.
A growing literature shows that body posture modulates the perception of touch, as well as somatosensory processing more widely. In this study, I investigated the effects of changes in the internal postural configuration of the hand on the perceived distance between touches. In two experiments participants positioned their hand in two postures, with the fingers splayed (Apart posture) or pressed together (Together posture). In Experiment 1, participants made forced-choice judgments of which of two tactile distances felt bigger, one oriented with the proximal-distal hand axis (Along orientation) and one oriented with the medio-lateral hand axis (Across orientation). In Experiment 2, participants made verbal estimates of the absolute distance between a single pair of touches, in one of the two orientations. Consistent with previous results, there was a clear bias to perceive distances in the across orientation as larger than those in the along orientation. Perceived tactile distance was also modulated by posture, with increased judgments in both orientations when the fingers were splayed. These results show that changes in the internal posture of the hand modulate the perceived distance between touches on the hand, and add to a growing literature showing postural modulation of touch.
越来越多的文献表明，身体姿势会调节触觉感知，以及更广泛的体感处理。在这项研究中，我调查了手部内部姿势结构变化对手部触觉距离感知的影响。在两个实验中，参与者将手置于两种姿势，手指张开（分开姿势）或并拢（并拢姿势）。在实验 1 中，参与者在两种触觉距离中进行强制选择判断，一种距离的近端-远端手轴方向（沿方向），另一种距离的中间-侧向手轴方向（横方向）。在实验 2 中，参与者以口头形式估计一对触摸之间的绝对距离，在两个方向之一。与之前的结果一致，横方向的距离明显大于沿方向的距离。触觉距离也受到姿势的调节，当手指张开时，两个方向的判断都会增加。这些结果表明，手部内部姿势的变化会调节手部触觉距离的感知，并且增加了越来越多的关于姿势调节触觉的文献。
