Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
Multisensory Perception Laboratory, a Division of the Multisensory Mind Inc., Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 29;11(1):13479. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92192-1.
Accurate localization of touch requires the integration of two reference frames-an internal (e.g., anatomical) and an external (e.g., spatial). Using a tactile temporal order judgement task with the hands crossed over the midline, we investigated the integration of these two reference frames. We manipulated the reliability of the visual and vestibular information, both of which contribute to the external reference frame. Visual information was manipulated between experiments (Experiment 1 was done with full vision and Experiment 2 was done while wearing a blindfold). Vestibular information was manipulated in both experiments by having the two groups of participants complete the task in both an upright posture and one where they were lying down on their side. Using a Bayesian hierarchical model, we estimated the perceptual weight applied to these reference frames. Lying participants on their side reduced the weight applied to the external reference frame and produced a smaller deficit; blindfolding resulted in similar reductions. These findings reinforce the importance of the visual system when weighting tactile reference frames, and highlight the importance of the vestibular system in this integration.
准确的触摸定位需要整合两个参考系——内部（例如，解剖学）和外部（例如，空间）。我们使用双手越过中线的触觉时间顺序判断任务，研究了这两个参考系的整合。我们在实验之间操纵视觉和前庭信息的可靠性，这两者都有助于外部参考系。在实验 1 中使用完整的视觉，在实验 2 中使用眼罩来操纵视觉信息。在两个实验中，通过让两组参与者在直立姿势和侧卧姿势下完成任务来操纵前庭信息。使用贝叶斯层次模型，我们估计了应用于这些参考系的感知权重。侧卧的参与者减少了对外在参考系的权重，并且产生的缺陷较小；戴眼罩也产生了类似的减少。这些发现强调了视觉系统在加权触觉参考系时的重要性，并突出了前庭系统在这种整合中的重要性。
