RESUMO
Prism adaptation (PA) is a sensorimotor technique that has been shown to alleviate neglect symptoms. Due to its demonstrated functional effectiveness, PA has recently been implemented in virtual reality environments. However, research on virtual prism adaptation (VPA) is limited and it lacks a standardized methodological approach. It is crucial to investigate whether VPA can be effective in inducing traditional effect of PA and to have potential utility in a rehabilitation context. Clarifying this aspect would allow the use of VPA in a wider range of contexts and neurological disorders, with the additional opportunity to overcome PA traditional limits. The aim of the present study is to revise current literature on VPA in both healthy individuals and patients highlighting also its advantages and limitations. Studies performed between 2013 and 2023 and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were searched on three electronic databases, by combining the terms "Virtual prism adaptation" and "Virtual prism adaptation therapy. Out of 123 articles, only 16 met the inclusion criteria. The current literature review suggests that VPA may serve as a potentially useful tool for inducing visuomotor adaptation, with most studies conducted in healthy individuals. The high variability in the methodologies observed among studies suggests that more standardized approaches are needed to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptation and aftereffects when PA is administered in a virtual environment. Future studies should also address practical applications and clinical efficacy of VPA, particularly in patients with spatial neglect.
RESUMO
People naturally exhibit a self-serving bias which can be observed in their tendency to judge their own physical attractiveness more favourably than that of others. Despite this positive self-perception, minimally invasive cosmetic injectable procedures for facial rejuvenation and enhancement are becoming increasingly common. It remains unclear, however, whether recognizing an altered version of one's own face, enhanced cosmetically, correlates with a positive view of cosmetic surgery and excessive preoccupations about physical characteristics perceived as defects (body dysmorphic concerns). In this study, 30 healthy female participants, aged 18-24 years (Mage = 21.1 years, SD = 1.6), engaged in a face recognition task during which their faces were digitally morphed with that of gender-matched unfamiliar women who had undergone cosmetic enhancements, specifically lip and cheek fillers. The duration of exposure to these modified faces varied with short (500 msec) and long (2000 msec) viewing periods. Participants were asked to identify whether the digital morphs represented themselves or the other woman. Self-reports regarding acceptance of cosmetic surgery and dysmorphic concerns were collected. Participants PSE indicated a tendency towards self-bias under short presentation times, shifting towards the other as presentation times lengthened. Interestingly, this effect was associated with greater acceptance of cosmetic surgery and higher body dysmorphic concerns. This study underscores the importance of understanding how perceptions of others' physical appearances can influence self-recognition and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery, which may have both positive and potentially harmful implications.
Assuntos
Autoimagem , Humanos , Feminino , Adulto Jovem , Adolescente , Técnicas Cosméticas/psicologia , Face , Cosméticos , Adulto , Reconhecimento Facial , Imagem Corporal/psicologia , Preenchedores Dérmicos/administração & dosagemRESUMO
Unmyelinated C-Tactile (CT) fibres are activated by caress-like touch, eliciting a pleasant feeling that decreases for static and faster stroking. Previous studies documented this effect also for vicarious touch, hypothesising simulation mechanisms driving the perception and appreciation of observed interpersonal touch. Notably, less is known about appreciation of vicarious execution of touch, that is as referred to the one giving gentle touch. To address this issue, 53 healthy participants were asked to view and rate a series of videoclips displaying an individual being touched by another on hairy (i.e., hand dorsum) or glabrous (i.e., palm) skin sites, with touch being delivered at CT-optimal (5 cm/s) or non-CT optimal velocities (0 cm/s or 30 cm/s). Following the observation of each clip, participants were asked to rate self-referred desirability and model-referred pleasantness of vicarious touch for both executer (toucher-referred) and receiver (touchee-referred). Consistent with the CT fibres properties, for both self-referred desirability and model-referred pleasantness judgements of vicarious touch execution and reception, participants provided higher ratings for vicarious touch delivered at CT-optimal than other velocities, and when observed CT-optimal touch was delivered to the hand-dorsum compared to the palm. However, higher ratings were attributed to vicarious reception compared to execution of CT-optimal touch. Notably, individual differences in interoceptive trusting and attitude to interpersonal touch were positively correlated with, respectively, toucher- and touchee-related overall appraisal ratings of touch. These findings suggest that the appreciation of both toucher- and touchee-referred vicarious touch is specifically attuned to CT-optimal touch, even though they might rely on different neurocognitive mechanisms to understand affective information conveyed by interpersonal tactile interactions.
Assuntos
Percepção do Tato , Tato , Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Adulto , Tato/fisiologia , Percepção do Tato/fisiologia , Adulto Jovem , Relações InterpessoaisRESUMO
Conflicting evidence points to the contribution of several key nodes of the 'social brain' to the processing of both discriminatory and affective qualities of interpersonal touch. Whether the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), two brain areas vital for tactile mirroring and affective mentalizing, play a functional role in shared representations of C-tactile (CT) targeted affective touch is still a matter of debate. Here, we used offline continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to mPFC, S1 and vertex (control) prior to participants providing ratings of vicarious touch pleasantness for self and others delivered across several body sites at CT-targeted velocities. We found that S1-cTBS led to a significant increase in touch ratings to the self, with this effect being positively associated to levels of interoceptive awareness. Conversely, mPFC-cTBS reduced pleasantness ratings for touch to another person. These effects were not specific for CT-optimal (slow) stroking velocities, but rather they applied to all types of social touch. Overall, our findings challenge the causal role of the S1 and mPFC in vicarious affective touch and suggest that self- vs other-directed vicarious touch responses might crucially depend on the specific involvement of key social networks in gentle tactile interactions.
Assuntos
Percepção do Tato , Tato , Humanos , Tato/fisiologia , Córtex Somatossensorial/fisiologia , Percepção do Tato/fisiologia , Emoções , Córtex Pré-Frontal , Estimulação FísicaRESUMO
The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.
Assuntos
Imagem Corporal , Identidade de Gênero , Humanos , Imagem Corporal/psicologia , Psicometria , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Análise Fatorial , Idioma , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
Interpersonal touch is intimately related to the emotional bond between the touch giver and the touch receiver. Which bodily regions we touch in those individuals in our social network is relationship specific. Perception of interpersonal touch is altered in psychiatric disorders characterised by body image disturbances (BIDs). Here, we examined whether the 'imagined' experience of social touch in individuals with BIDs is body topography- and relationship-specific. By using an interactive media mobile App, the Virtual Touch Toolkit, high versus low levels of BIDs participants completed heatmaps of full-body virtual avatars, to indicate the body regions they find soothing/unpleasant to be touched by a loved one versus an acquaintance. Self-reports of interoceptive awareness and dysmorphic concerns were also measured. Overall, imagined touch was rated as the most soothing when received from a loved one, and also when this was delivered to 'social' body regions. The importance of the social relationship for the imagined tactile interactions was particularly evident for the high levels of BIDs group, with greater problems with interoceptive awareness predicting higher soothing touch ratings when this was received by a loved one. Despite the evidence that imagined bodily contacts between meaningful people is the most pleasant for socially acceptable bodily regions, our findings may suggest a greater sensitivity to relation-specific bodily patterns of social touch particularly in the high level of BIDs group. Heightened interoceptive awareness may also play a key role in this experience of bodily affective contacts. Future research for body-oriented therapy for BIDs is encouraged to systematically probe the efficacy of imagined social touch interaction protocols which use more plausible, ecological, scenarios where touch is delivered by loved ones and to socially acceptable bodily regions.
Assuntos
Imagem Corporal , Percepção do Tato , Humanos , Imagem Corporal/psicologia , Emoções , Relações InterpessoaisRESUMO
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating pathology characterized by restricted eating, body image distortions and impaired socio-cognitive abilities. Altered responses to affective touch-a pleasant interoceptive stimulus hypothesised to involve activation of the C-Tactile (CT) system, may contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of this disorder. Here, we investigated whether third-party social touch vicarious ratings of different body sites at CT-optimal vs. non-CT optimal velocities differed in women with and recovered from AN (RAN) and healthy controls (HCs). Thirty-five HCs, 27 AN and 29 RAN provided pleasantness ratings for two different tasks designed to probe expectations of how touch is perceived by self (self-directed touch) vs. others (other-directed touch). Findings revealed that both clinical groups, compared to HCs, did not differ in their pleasantness ratings to touch for another but when evaluating touch for self, both clinical groups rated CT-optimal touch as less pleasant than HCs. These findings suggest that AN and RAN women demonstrate an atypical vicarious pleasantness response to affective touch involving self, but not others. Novel therapeutic approaches that help anorexics to better interpret or improve tolerance of affective tactile experiences involving the self may be an important addition to current standard treatments.
Assuntos
Anorexia Nervosa , Percepção do Tato , Anorexia Nervosa/psicologia , Emoções/fisiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Estimulação Física/métodos , Tato/fisiologia , Percepção do Tato/fisiologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Research evidence suggests that physiological state of hunger might affect preference for female body weight, such that hungrier, compared to satiate, men prefer heavier body weight and rate as more attractive heavier female figures. Here, we seek to extend these findings by comparing the effects of fasting and snack on aesthetics judgements of the bodies and faces of conspecifics and of objects in a sample of female and male participants. METHODS: Forty-four participants (women: n = 21, mean age = 23.70 yrs ± 0.62) provided aesthetic liking judgments of round and slim human bodies, faces and objects, under at least 12 h of overnight fasting and immediately after having eaten a snack (i.e., bananas). An anthropometric measure of adiposity (i.e., Body Mass Index, BMI) was also collected from each observer. RESULTS: Overall, we found that participants' aesthetic judgements were higher for slim stimuli compared to round ones. However, after fasting, participants rated round stimuli as more attractive compared to when they had a snack. This hunger-based shift in ratings not only was apparent when stimuli depicted a human body or face, but also when they depicted an object, thus suggesting a general modification of observers' aesthetic preference related to hunger. Importantly, this effect was modulated by participants' BMI so that only participants with a high BMI provided higher aesthetic judgements for round stimuli after fasting than after a snack. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that both the modification of the physiological state and the individual differences in adiposity level of the observers might affect the aesthetic appreciation of the external world.
Assuntos
Corpo Humano , Fome , Adulto , Estética , Feminino , Humanos , Fome/fisiologia , Masculino , Obesidade , Lanches , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Previous research indicates that following alcohol intoxication, activity in prefrontal cortices is reduced, linking to changes in associated cognitive processes, such as inhibitory control, attentional bias (AB), and craving. While these changes have been implicated in alcohol consumption behaviour, it has yet to be fully illuminated how these frontal regions and cognitive processes interact to govern alcohol consumption behaviour. The current preregistered study applied continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to examine directly these relationships while removing the wider pharmacological effects of alcohol. A mixed design was implemented, with cTBS stimulation to right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the medial orbital frontal cortex (mOFC) and Vertex, with measures of inhibitory control, AB, and craving taken both pre- and post-stimulation. Ad libitum consumption was measured using a bogus taste task. Results suggest that rDLPFC stimulation impaired inhibitory control but did not significantly increase ad libitum consumption. However, lDLPFC stimulation heightened craving and increased consumption, with findings indicating that changes in craving partially mediated the relationship between cTBS stimulation of prefrontal regions and ad libitum consumption. Medial OFC stimulation and AB findings were inconclusive. Overall, results implicate the left DLPFC in the regulation of craving, which appears to be a prepotent cognitive mechanism by which alcohol consumption is driven and maintained.
Assuntos
Fissura , Estimulação Magnética Transcraniana , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/psicologia , Fissura/fisiologia , Córtex Pré-Frontal Dorsolateral , Humanos , Córtex Pré-Frontal/fisiologia , Estimulação Magnética Transcraniana/métodosRESUMO
We investigated the effects of non-informative vision of the body on exteroceptive multisensory integration and touch perception in participants presenting with different levels of eating disorder (ED) symptoms. The study employed a sample of women reporting low (low ED; n = 31) vs high (high ED; n = 34) levels of subclinical ED symptoms who undertook the Somatic Signal Detection task (SSDT). During the SSDT, participants are required to detect near-threshold tactile stimulation at their fingertip with and without a simultaneous light flash next to the stimulated fingertip. Previous research has found that participants have a tendency to erroneously report touch sensations in the absence of the stimulation, and especially when the light flash is presented. In this study, participants completed the SSDT under two conditions: while their hand was visible (non-informative vision), and while their hand was hidden from sight (no vision). Non-informative vision of the hand was found to have a different effect on SSDT performances according to participants' levels of ED symptoms. High ED participants were better able to correctly detect the touch during the SSDT when their hand was visible. Conversely, for low ED participants, vision of the body was linked to a greater effect of the light in inducing false reports of touch. We suggest that in those with high ED symptoms, vision of the body may exacerbate a predisposition to focusing on external rather than internal bodily information.
Assuntos
Transtornos da Alimentação e da Ingestão de Alimentos , Percepção do Tato , Feminino , Mãos , Humanos , Análise e Desempenho de Tarefas , Tato/fisiologia , Percepção do Tato/fisiologia , Percepção Visual/fisiologiaRESUMO
Despite the fact that ageing causes dramatic changes in bodily appearance, little is known about how self-body recognition changes across life span. Here, we investigated whether older, compared to younger women, differed in the ability of recognising their own than other women's body parts and whether this effect was associated to negative body image dispositions. Twenty-eight young (Mage: 25.93 years, SDage = 4.74) and 25 middle-aged (Mage: 54.36 years, SDage = 4.54) women completed an implicit task consisting of visual matching of self and others' body parts and an explicit self-other body discrimination task. Stimuli comprised of images of body parts of the participant and of other age- and BMI-matched models, which were presented in the original size or modified to look rounder or thinner. Measures of adiposity (i.e. BMI), body image concerns and appearance-related worries for specific body parts and for the whole body were also collected. Whilst both groups showed a self-body advantage in the implicit, but not in the explicit task, the advantage was notably bigger for the younger group. However, the implicit self-advantage was higher in those middle-aged women that displayed more body image concerns and worries for specific body parts. Furthermore, the two groups were comparably less able in recognising their body parts when presented thinner as compared to rounder or in their actual size. Overall, these findings open the possibility that, as women age, their implicit self-recognition abilities may decline in association with more negative body image dispositions.
Assuntos
Envelhecimento , Imagem Corporal , Idoso , Ansiedade , Atitude , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , AutoimagemRESUMO
Affective touch refers to the emotional and motivational facets of tactile sensation and has been linked to the activation of a specialised system of mechanosensory afferents (the CT system), that respond optimally to slow caress-like touch. Affective touch has been shown to play an important role in the building of the bodily self: the multisensory integrated global awareness of one's own body. Here we investigated the effects of affective touch on subsequent tactile awareness and multisensory integration using the Somatic Signal Detection Task (SSDT). During the SSDT, participants were required to detect near-threshold tactile stimulation on their cheek, in the presence/absence of a concomitant light. Participants repeated the SSDT twice, before and after receiving a touch manipulation. Participants were divided into two groups: one received affective touch (CT optimal; n = 32), and the second received non-affective touch (non-CT optimal; n = 34). Levels of arousal (skin conductance levels, SCLs) and mood changes after the touch manipulation were also measured. Affective touch led to an increase in tactile accuracy, as indicated by less false reports of touch and a trend towards higher tactile sensitivity during the subsequent SSDT. Conversely, non-affective touch was found to induce a partial decrease in the correct detection of touch possibly due to a desensitization of skin mechanoreceptors. Both affective and non-affective touch induced a more positive mood and higher SCLs in participants. The increase in SCLs was greater after affective touch. We conclude that receiving affective touch enhances the sense of bodily self therefore increasing perceptual accuracy and awareness. Higher SCLs are suggested to be a possible mediator linking affective touch to a greater tactile accuracy. Clinical implications are discussed.
Assuntos
Afeto/fisiologia , Fenômenos Fisiológicos da Pele , Análise e Desempenho de Tarefas , Percepção do Tato/fisiologia , Tato/fisiologia , Adulto , Vias Aferentes/fisiologia , Nível de Alerta , Feminino , Resposta Galvânica da Pele , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Autorrelato , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Recent evidence suggests that altered responses to affective touch-a pleasant interoceptive stimulus associated with activation of the C-Tactile (CT) system-may contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of mental conditions characterised by body image disturbances (e.g., Anorexia Nervosa). Here, we investigated whether tactile pleasantness and intensity differ across body sites, and if individual differences in dysmorphic appearance concerns and body and emotional awareness might be associated with touch perceptions across body sites. To this end, we measured perceived pleasantness and intensity of gentle, dynamic stroking touches applied to the palm, forearm, face, abdomen and back of 30 female participants (mean age: 25.87±1.17yrs) using CT-optimal (3 cm/s) and non-CT optimal (0.3 and 30 cm/s) stroking touch. As expected, participants rated CT-targeted touch as more pleasant compared to the two non-CT optimal stroking touch at all body sites. Regardless of stroking velocity, touch applied to the abdomen elicited the lowest pleasantness ratings. Lower levels of emotional awareness, greater levels of interoceptive sensibility and of dysmorphic concerns were associated with lower preference for CT-optimal stroking touch applied to the forearm and the back. These findings begin to elucidate the link between CT sensitivity, dysmorphic appearance concerns and body and emotional awareness, which may have implications for future research looking to inform early interventions. Addressing impaired processing of affective interoceptive stimuli, such as CT-targeted touch, may be the key to current treatment approaches available for those populations at risk of disorders characterised by body image disturbance.
Assuntos
Afeto/fisiologia , Imagem Corporal/psicologia , Percepção do Tato/fisiologia , Tato/fisiologia , Adulto , Emoções/fisiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Estimulação Física , Adulto JovemRESUMO
We examined whether visual processing mechanisms of the body of conspecifics are different in women and men and whether these rely on westernised socio-cultural ideals and body image concerns. Twenty-four women and 24 men performed a visual discrimination task of upright or inverted images of female or male bodies and faces (Experiment 1) and objects (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, both groups of women and men showed comparable abilities in the discrimination of upright and inverted bodies and faces. However, the gender of the human stimuli yielded different effects on participants' performance, so that female faces, and male bodies appeared to be processed less configurally than female bodies and male faces, respectively. Interestingly, the reduction of configural processing for male bodies was significantly predicted by participants' Body Mass Index (BMI) and their level of internalization of muscularity. Our findings suggest that configural visual processing of bodies and faces in women and men may be linked to a selective attention to detail needed for discriminating salient physical (perhaps sexual) cues of conspecifics. Importantly, BMI and muscularity internalization of beauty ideals may also play a crucial role in this mechanism.
Assuntos
Beleza , Percepção Visual , Imagem Corporal , Índice de Massa Corporal , Discriminação Psicológica , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Reconhecimento Visual de ModelosRESUMO
Over-estimation of body size, a core feature of eating disorders (EDs), has been well-documented both in young healthy and ED individuals. Yet, evidence that altered body perception might also affect older women is limited. Here, we examined whether attitudinal components of body image (i.e. the feelings an individual has about their body size and shape) might affect perceived actual and ideal body shape self-estimates in midlife, similarly to younger women. Thirty-two younger (mean age, 24.22 years) and 33 middle-aged (mean age, 53.79 years) women took part to a computerized body perception assessment of perceived, actual and ideal aspects of body image. Body mass index (BMI), societal and interpersonal aspects of appearance ideals, measured by means of Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-4), and assessment of body uneasiness and concerns for specific body parts, measured by Body Uneasiness Test (BUT-A/B) scales, were also investigated. Younger and middle-aged women with larger BMI showed greater discrepancy in perceptual distortions from their perceived actual body size. However, middle-aged women with greater body part concerns overestimated their perceived body size, as opposed to younger women who were almost accurate. Unlike middle-aged women, younger women with higher body part concerns desired slimmer ideal body image than their perceived actual. Results suggest that distortions in the perceived actual and ideal body size self-estimates of younger and middle-aged women are best explained by a combination of BMI, body part concerns and the particular age group to which a participant belonged. In the future, a personalized approach for the assessment of women's perceptions and concerns of specific body areas during lifespan should be adopted.
Assuntos
Imagem Corporal , Transtornos da Alimentação e da Ingestão de Alimentos , Adulto , Idoso , Envelhecimento , Índice de Massa Corporal , Tamanho Corporal , Feminino , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Autoimagem , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Motor resonance (MR) can be influenced by individual differences and similarity in the physical appearance between the actor and observer. Recently, we reported that action simulation is modulated by an implicit visual sensitivity towards normal-weight compared with overweight bodies. Furthermore, recent research has suggested the existence of an action observation network responsible for MR, with limited evidence whether the primary motor cortex (M1) is part of this. We expanded our previous findings with regards to the role of an implicit normal-weight-body preference in the MR mechanism. At the same time, we tested the functional relevance of M1 to MR, by using a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) protocol. Seventeen normal-weight and 17 overweight participants were asked to observe normal-weight or overweight actors reaching and grasping a light or heavy cube, and then, at the end of each video-clip to indicate the correct cube weight. Before the task, all participants received 15 min of sham or cathodal tDCS over the left M1. Measures of anti-fat attitudes were also collected. During sham tDCS, all participants were better in simulating the actions performed by normal-weight compared with overweight models. Surprisingly, cathodal tDCS selectively improved the ability in the overweight group to simulate actions performed by the overweight models. This effect was not associated with scores of fat phobic attitudes or implicit anti-fat bias. Our findings are discussed in the context of relevance of M1 to MR and its social modulation by anti-fat attitudes.
Assuntos
Córtex Motor , Estimulação Transcraniana por Corrente Contínua , Atitude , Força da Mão , Humanos , SobrepesoRESUMO
We examined whether alterations in body perception in EDs extend to the integration of exteroceptive visual and tactile information. Moreover, we investigated the effect of self-focused attention on the ability to correctly detect tactile stimuli. Twenty-seven women reporting low ED symptoms, versus 26 women reporting high ED symptoms, undertook a modified version of the Somatic Signal Detection Task (SSDT), which involved detecting tactile stimuli on the cheek in the presence or absence of a concomitant light. The SSDT was completed while looking at a photograph of one's own face, another female face, and a scrambled face. Heart rate and skin conductance were recorded continuously during the SSDT. Although ED symptoms were not associated with an overall increased tendency to misperceive touch in the presence of a light, High ED participants were differentially affected by self-focused attention. For the High ED group, physiological arousal, and tactile sensitivity (d') were increased when self-focused attention was augmented. For the Low ED group, sensitivity (d') and physiological arousal were higher in the control conditions. We suggest that in those with High ED symptoms, attention to the bodily self may exacerbate a predisposition to focusing on external rather than internal bodily information.