Seeing an image of the hand affects performance on a crossmodal congruency task for sequences of events

The crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) is augmented when viewing an image of a hand compared to an object. It is unclear if this contextual effect extends to a non-spatial CCE. Here, participants discriminated the number of tactile vibrations delivered to the hand whilst ignoring visual distractors on images of their own or another’s hand or an object. The CCE was not modulated by stimulus context. Viewing one’s hand from a third person perspective increased errors relative to viewing an object (Experiment 1). Errors were reduced when viewing hands, from first or third person perspectives, with additional identity markers (Experiments 2 and 3). Our results suggest no effect of context on the non-spatial CCE and that differences in task performance between hand and object images depend on their visual properties. These findings are discussed in light of the relationship between body representation and perception of body-centred stimuli in the temporal domain.     

身体拥有感错觉对疼痛的影响及其作用机制

身体拥有感错觉以多通道的感官整合为基础,包括视觉-触觉、视觉-本体感觉、触觉-本体感觉、视觉-内感受的整合等。来自实验室急性痛以及慢性痛的大量结果表明拥有感错觉可产生镇痛作用。身体部位尺寸大小、肢体透明度等相关影响因素也逐渐得到揭示。拥有感错觉影响疼痛的机制与身体表征的改变有关,该过程可能涉及“身体网络”与“疼痛网络”间的连接,其中后顶叶皮层可能有重要作用。未来研究应更为深入地探索拥有感错觉范式以考察不同因素对疼痛的影响;在现有多感官整合的范式中重视内感受的作用;考察拥有感错觉改变疼痛的认知神经机制;区分急、慢性痛条件下以及不同慢性痛类型中拥有感错觉对疼痛的不同影响。     

A strange hand: On self-recognition and recognition of another

This article provides a phenomenological analysis of the difference between self-recognition and recognition of another, while referring to some contemporary neuroscientific studies on the rubber hand illusion. It examines the difference between these two forms of recognition on the basis of Husserl’s and Merleau-Ponty’s work. It argues that both phenomenologies, despite their different views on inter-subjectivity, allow for the specificity of recognition of another. In explaining self-recognition, however, Husserl’s account seems less convincing. Research concerning the rubber hand illusion has confirmed that self-recognition involves more than an immediate experience of oneself. Merleau-Ponty’s later work, describing self-recognition as the result of assimilative identification, will be used to explain the possibility of illusion between one’s “hereness” and “thereness”. The possibility of this illusion is inherent to self-recognition, while it is lacking in recognition of another.

Roughness perception during the rubber hand illusion

Watching a rubber hand being stroked by a paintbrush while feeling identical stroking of one’s own occluded hand can create a compelling illusion that the seen hand becomes part of one’s own body. It has been suggested that this so-called rubber hand illusion (RHI) does not simply reflect a bottom–up multisensory integration process but that the illusion is also modulated by top–down, cognitive factors. Here we investigated for the first time whether the conceptual interpretation of the sensory quality of the visuotactile stimulation in terms of roughness can influence the occurrence of the illusion and vice versa, whether the presence of the RHI can modulate the perceived sensory quality of a given tactile stimulus (i.e., in terms of roughness). We used a classical RHI paradigm in which participants watched a rubber hand being stroked by either a piece of soft or rough fabric while they received synchronous or asynchronous tactile stimulation that was either congruent or incongruent with respect to the sensory quality of the material touching the rubber hand. (In)congruencies between the visual and tactile stimulation did neither affect the RHI on an implicit level nor on an explicit level, and the experience of the RHI in turn did not cause any modulations of the felt sensory quality of touch on participant’s own hand. These findings first suggest that the RHI seems to be resistant to top–down knowledge in terms of a conceptual interpretation of tactile sensations. Second, they argue against the hypothesis that participants own hand tends to disappear during the illusion and that the rubber hand actively replaces it.     

情绪效价、唤醒度和有无评价影响手部动作

研究探讨情绪正-负效价、唤醒度水平(高、中、低)以及有意识评价对推拉动作的影响。分3个实验进行, 收集反应时(RT)和手部动作指标等。实验1使用正-负效价下高、中、低唤醒水平的图片进行评价并执行推-拉动作任务; 实验2使用中性图片和灰色空白图片完成相同任务; 实验3在不进行效价评估情况下完成推-拉动作。结果表明(1)情绪效价对反应时, 运动时间和到达峰速时间等有显著影响：向上拖动图片时, 消极图片拖得更快; 向下拖动时, 则积极图片更快。(2)情绪唤醒度调节情绪效价对推-拉动作的作用：唤醒度越高, 情绪效价尤其是负性情绪对推-拉动作的作用越大; 反之, 则作用越小。(3)无评价条件下, 情绪效价对推-拉动作无显著影响; 即情绪对动作的影响需要有意识评价的参与。这些结果说明情绪对推拉动作影响可能发生在早期, 不仅影响动作计划, 而且影响到随后动作的执行, 而高唤醒度和有意识评价增强了这种影响。     

Consistent inter-individual differences in susceptibility to bodily illusions

Illusory senses of ownership and agency (that the hand or effector that we see belongs to us and moves at our will, respectively) support the embodiment of prosthetic limbs, tele-operated surgical devices, and human-machine interfaces. We exposed forty-eight individuals to four different procedures known to elicit illusory ownership or agency over a fake visible rubber hand or finger. The illusory ownership or agency arising from the hand correlated with that of the finger. For both body parts, sensory stimulation across different modalities (visual with tactile or visual with kinesthetic) produced illusions of similar strength. However, the strengths of the illusions of ownership and agency were unrelated within individuals, supporting the proposal that distinct neuropsychological processes underlie these two senses. Developing training programs to enhance susceptibility to illusions of agency or ownership for people with lower natural susceptibility could broaden the usefulness of the above technologies.     

Synchronous stimulation in the rubber hand illusion task boosts the subsequent sense of ownership on the vicarious agency task

The relationship between sense of agency and sense of ownership remains unclear. Here we investigated this relationship by manipulating ownership using the rubber hand illusion and assessing the resulting impact on self-experiences during the vicarious agency illusion. We tested whether modulating ownership towards another limb using the rubber hand illusion would subsequently influence the illusory experience of ownership and agency towards a similar-looking limb in the vicarious agency task. Crucially, the vicarious agency task measures both sense of agency and sense of ownership at the same time, while removing the confounding influence of motor signals. Our results replicated the well-established effects of both paradigms. We also found that manipulating the sense of ownership with the rubber hand illusion influenced the subsequent vicarious experience of ownership but not the vicarious experience of agency. This supports the idea that sense of agency and sense of ownership are, at least partially, independent experiences.     

张君劢“德法合一”论述评

张君劢的“德法合一”是儒家之德与西方之法的合一,在德与法的关系上,二者并不是地位相同的,德法合一是在德的基础上德与法的合一,德比法更根本,“德法相辅而行”更深层的意义是“德主法辅而行”。张君劢“德法合一”论始终未离儒家道德本位,决定了这种结合仍是停留在道德文化层面,而没有落实为政治法律事实,若将“德法合一”论还原为“内圣外王”之道,我们仍可看到传统儒学在当代社会面临的困境。     

Postural Stability and Hand Preference as Constraints on One-Handed Catching Performance in Children

Effects of postural state and hand preference as constraints on 1-handed catching performance were investigated in different ability groups of children aged 9-10 years. On the basis of pretest data, the authors classified 48 participants into groups of good, intermediate, and poor catchers (n = 16 in each) and asked them to perform 1-handed catches with their preferred and nonpreferred hands while standing and sitting. The good catchers' performance was not affected by the imposed postural constraints but did improve when they used the preferred hand. A similar effect of hand preference was evident in the intermediate and poor catchers, but there was also an effect of postural constraint. Independent of hand preference, intermediate catchers' performance while seated improved significantly compared with that during standing. For poor catchers, there was an interaction between hand preference and posture; significant improvement was evident only when they used the preferred hand in the sitting condition. The finding that manipulation of posture and hand preference affected performance outcomes indicates that perceptual skill is not the only influence on catching performance in children. Manipulation of those key constraints may facilitate the acquisition of catching skill, but more research is needed to determine the permanence of those effects.     

Dynamics of Pushing

A standing individual can use several strategies for modulating pushing force magnitude. Using a static model, researchers have shown that the efficacy of those strategies varies considerably. In the present article, the authors propose a human motor control dynamic model for analyzing transients that occur when an individual is asked to modulate force magnitude. According to the model, the impedances of both the upper and the lower limbs influence the time course of force variations and foot placement has a profound effect on pushing force dynamics. With a feet-together posture, the center of pressure has a limited range of motion and changes in force may be preceded by initial changes in the opposite direction; that is, to decrease force, an individual must first increase force. When the feet are placed apart, individuals can move the center of pressure over a much larger range, thereby modulating pushing force magnitude, without reversing behavior, over a larger range of force magnitudes. Therefore, the best way to control pushing force at the hand may be by using the foot.