Body schema and multisensory integration Flashcards
Body schema
A representation of the positions of body parts in space, which is updated during body movement
Sensorimotor representation of the body, highlighting a special relationship between mind, body and action.
No successful action is possible without a representation of one’s bodily parameters such as the size, position, muscle tension.
Does not require awareness
Body image
How you imagine your body, how do you feel about your body
Conscious (mostly visual) representation
Distortion of body IMAGE- Autotopagnosia
inability to locate body parts
loss of spatial unity of body
patients can name body parts but relative order lost
action execution is generally preserved
Distortion of body SCHEMA- Ideomotor apraxia
inability to execute actions especially related to tools
body image is generally preserved
Distortion of body image and schema- Alice in wonderland syndrome
distortion in size perception
body parts might appear smaller (microsomatognosia) or larger than their true size (macrosomatognosia)
body posture and perception
participants were slower to identify which hand was stimulated first when their hands were crossed in front of them, meaning body schema affects perception
when does body schema develop
tested where babies would look when their legs were squeezed when they were either crossed or not crossed. at 6 months they stared to get confused which leg was being squeezed, indicating that body schema develops at around 6 months old
what is the congruency effect time?- the time difference between when the finger stimulation is congruent and incongruent with a light.
62ms
cross-modal integration
If the tactile and visual stimuli are aligned in space, we will react quicker than if there are in different locations.
There’s some interference from the visual stimuli, despite it being a purely tactile task
