Department of Psychology, Rikkyo University, 1-2-26, Kitano, Niiza-shi, Saitama, 352-8558, Japan.
Developmental Disorders Section, Department of Rehabilitation for Brain Functions, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, 4-1, Namiki, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, 359-8555, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2018 Nov 19;8(1):17018. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-35302-w.
Crossmodal studies have reported not only facilitatory but also inhibitory perceptual interactions. For instance, tactile stimulation to the index finger of a hand leads to the degradation of visual discrimination performance (touch-induced visual suppression, TIVS). It has been suggested that the magnitude of TIVS depends on the spatial congruency of visuo-tactile stimuli and on individual differences in task performance. We performed a detailed investigation of the effects of spatial consistency and individual differences on the occurrence of TIVS. The visual target and tactile stimulus were presented at co-localized, ipsilateral but not co-localized, or contralateral positions. The degree of autistic traits has been reported to be well variable among the general population and to reflect differences in sensory processing. Therefore, we assessed the magnitude of autistic traits using the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) as an index of individual differences. TIVS occurred particularly at the ipsilateral but not co-localized position. In contrast, the magnitude of the TIVS was positively correlated with the AQ score when the stimuli were presented at the co-localized position. These findings suggest that the occurrence of TIVS can be modulated both by the spatial relationship between the visual and tactile stimuli and by individual differences in autistic traits.
跨模态研究不仅报告了促进性的，还报告了抑制性的知觉相互作用。例如，对手指的触觉刺激会导致视觉辨别性能下降（触摸诱导的视觉抑制，TIVS）。有人认为，TIVS 的幅度取决于视触觉刺激的空间一致性和任务表现的个体差异。我们详细研究了空间一致性和个体差异对 TIVS 发生的影响。视觉目标和触觉刺激分别呈现在同侧、非同侧或对侧位置。自闭症特征的程度据报道在普通人群中变化很大，反映了感觉处理的差异。因此，我们使用自闭症谱系商数（AQ）作为个体差异的指标来评估自闭症特征的程度。TIVS 特别容易在同侧而非同侧位置发生。相比之下，当刺激呈现在同侧位置时，TIVS 的幅度与 AQ 得分呈正相关。这些发现表明，TIVS 的发生既可以通过视觉和触觉刺激之间的空间关系来调节，也可以通过自闭症特征的个体差异来调节。
