We use functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate short-term neural effects of a brief sensorimotor intervention adapted from the Feldenkrais method, a movement-based learning method. Twenty-one participants (10 men, 19-30 years) took part in the study. Participants were in a supine position in the scanner with extended legs while an experienced Feldenkrais practitioner used a planar board to touch and apply minimal force to different parts of the sole and toes of their left foot under two experimental conditions. In the local condition, the practitioner explored movement within foot and ankle. In the global condition, the practitioner focused on the connection and support from the foot to the rest of the body. Before (baseline) and after each intervention (post-local, post-global), we measured brain activity during intermittent pushing/releasing with the left leg and during resting state. Independent localizer tasks were used to identify regions of interest (ROI). Brain activity during left-foot pushing did not significantly differ between conditions in sensorimotor areas. Resting state activity (regional homogeneity, ReHo) increased from baseline to post-local in medial right motor cortex, and from baseline to post-global in the left supplementary/cingulate motor area. Contrasting post-global to post-local showed higher ReHo in right lateral motor cortex. ROI analyses showed significant increases in ReHo in pushing-related areas from baseline to both post-local and post-global, and this increase tended to be more pronounced post-local. The results of this exploratory study show that a short, non-intrusive sensorimotor intervention can have short-term effects on spontaneous cortical activity in functionally related brain regions. Increased resting state activity in higher-order motor areas supports the hypothesis that the global intervention engages action-related neural processes.
Data for Article in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience:Visual search in the Real World: Color Vision Deficiency Affects Peripheral Guidance, but Leaves Foveal Identification Largely Unaffecteddoi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00680Description of columns: ParticipantID: Enumerated Participants Group: CVD group is coded as 1, Control group as 2 Condition: Search targets of any color coded as: 1, Search targets of red color coded as: 2, Search targets of yellow color coded as: 3 Reported Correct Targets: Number of targets the participant reported correctly. fixated Color: Fraction of fixations the participant exhibited on the respective color.
Abstract Bio-mimetic approaches to restoring sensory function show great promise in that they rapidly produce perceptual experience, but have the disadvantage of being invasive. In contrast, sensory substitution approaches are non-invasive, but may lead to cognitive rather than perceptual experience. Here we introduce a new non-invasive approach that leads to fast and truly perceptual experience like bio-mimetic techniques. Instead of building on existing circuits at the neural level as done in bio-mimetics, we piggy-back on sensorimotor contingencies at the stimulus level. We convey head orientation to geomagnetic North, a reliable spatial relation not normally sensed by humans, by mimicking sensorimotor contingencies of distal sounds via head-related transfer functions. We demonstrate rapid and long-lasting integration into the perception of self-rotation. Short training with amplified or reduced rotation gain in the magnetic signal can expand or compress the perceived extent of vestibular self-rotation, even with the magnetic signal absent in the test. We argue that it is the reliability of the magnetic signal that allows vestibular spatial recalibration, and the coding scheme mimicking sensorimotor contingencies of distal sounds that permits fast integration. Hence we propose that contingency-mimetic feedback has great potential for creating sensory augmentation devices that achieve fast and genuinely perceptual experiences.
This study investigated the potential for the development of novel perceptual experiences through sustained training with a sensory augmentation device. We developed (1) a new geomagnetic sensory augmentation device, the NaviEar, and (2) a battery of tests for automaticity in the use of the device. The NaviEar translates head direction toward north into continuous sound according to a “wind coding” principle. To facilitate automatization of use, its design is informed by considerations of the embodiment of spatial orientation and multi-sensory integration, and it uses a sensory coding scheme derived from means for auditory perception of wind direction that is common in sailing because it is easy to understand and use. The test battery assesses different effects of automaticity (interference, rigidity of responses, and dynamic integration) assuming that automaticity is a necessary criterion to show the emergence of perceptual feel, that is, an augmented experience with perceptual phenomenal quality. We measured performance in simple training tasks, administered the tests for automaticity, and assessed subjective reports through a questionnaire. Results suggest that the NaviEar is easy and comfortable to use and has a potential for applications in real-world situations. Despite high usability, however, a 5-day training with the NaviEar did not reach levels of automaticity that are indicative of perceptual feel. We propose that the test battery for automaticity may be used as a benchmark test for iterative research on perceptual experiences in sensory augmentation and sensory substitution.
This study investigated the potential for the development of a new perceptual experience through sustained training with a sensory augmentation device. For this purpose, we developed (1) a new sensory augmentation device, the NaviEar, and (2) a battery of tests for automaticity in the use of the device. The NaviEar translates cardinal direction into sound. Because the signal of this device is comparatively simple and easy to interpret it should facilitate automatization of use. The test battery assesses different effects of automaticity (interference, rigidity of responses, dynamic integration) assuming that automaticity is a necessary criterion to show the emergence of perceptual feel, i.e. the sensory quality of a percept. We measured performance in simple training tasks, administered the tests for automaticity, and assessed subjective reports through a questionnaire. Results suggest that the NaviEar is easy and comfortable to use and has a potential for applications in real-world situations; but 5-day training with the NaviEar does not reach levels of automaticity that are indicative of perceptual feel. We propose that the test battery for automaticity may be used as a benchmark test for the possibility of perceptual feel in sensory augmentation and in sensory substitution.
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