Marucci Matteo, Maddaluno Ottavia, Ryan Colleen Patricia, Perciballi Cristina, Vasta Simona, Ciotti Simone, Moscatelli Alessandro, Betti Viviana
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Laboratory of Neuroscience and Applied Technology, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
iScience. 2024 Jun 6;27(6):109937. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109937. eCollection 2024 Jun 21.
Humans are the most versatile tool users among animals. Accordingly, our manual skills evolved alongside the shape of the hand. In the future, further evolution may take place: humans may merge with their tools, and technology may integrate into our biology in a way that blurs the line between the two. So, the question is whether humans can embody a bionic tool (i.e., experience it as part of their body) and thus if this would affect behavior. We investigated in virtual reality how the substitution of the hand with a virtual grafting of an end-effector, either non-naturalistic (a bionic tool) or naturalistic (a hand), impacts embodiment and behavior. Across four experiments, we show that the virtual grafting of a bionic tool elicits a sense of embodiment similar to or even stronger than its natural counterpart. In conclusion, the natural usage of bionic tools can rewire the evolution of human behavior.
人类是动物中最具多功能性的工具使用者。因此，我们的手工技能是随着手的形状一起进化的。在未来，可能会发生进一步的进化：人类可能会与他们的工具融合，技术可能会以一种模糊两者界限的方式融入我们的生物学。所以，问题在于人类是否能够体现一种仿生工具（即把它体验为身体的一部分），以及这是否会影响行为。我们在虚拟现实中研究了用非自然主义的（一种仿生工具）或自然主义的（一只手）末端执行器的虚拟嫁接来替代手，会如何影响身体体现和行为。通过四个实验，我们表明仿生工具的虚拟嫁接引发的身体体现感与自然对应物相似，甚至更强。总之，仿生工具的自然使用能够重塑人类行为的进化。
