Embodied perspective-taking indicated by selective disruption from aberrant self motion

Abstract

Spatial perspective-taking that involves imagined changes in one’s spatial orientation is facilitated by vestibular stimulation inducing a congruent sensation of self-motion. We examined further the role of vestibular resources in perspective-taking by evaluating whether aberrant and conflicting vestibular stimulation impaired perspective-taking performance. Participants (N = 39) undertook either an “own body transformation” (OBT) task, requiring speeded spatial judgments made from the perspective of a schematic figure, or a control task requiring reconfiguration of spatial mappings from one’s own visuo-spatial perspective. These tasks were performed both without and with vestibular stimulation by whole-body Coriolis motion, according to a repeated measures design, balanced for order. Vestibular stimulation was found to impair performance during the first minute post stimulus relative to the stationary condition. This disruption was task-specific, affecting only the OBT task and not the control task, and dissipated by the second minute post-stimulus. Our experiment thus demonstrates selective temporary impairment of perspective-taking from aberrant vestibular stimulation, implying that uncompromised vestibular resources are necessary for efficient perspective-taking. This finding provides evidence for an embodied mechanism for perspective-taking whereby vestibular input contributes to multisensory processing underlying bodily and social cognition. Ultimately, this knowledge may contribute to the design of interventions that help patients suffering sudden vertigo adapt to the cognitive difficulties caused by aberrant vestibular stimulation.

Sex Differences in Mental Rotation Performance Through Holding Weights By the Hands

“…Somatosensory information from holding heavy bags might reduce the discrepancy between the actual and imagined rotation of objects. This explanation is consistent with previous findings that imagined movement is facilitated or impaired by the presence of congruent or incongruent sensorimotor input, respectively (e.g., Gardner et al, 2017;Kunz et al, 2009;van Elk & Blanke, 2014). Beyond previous findings, the present study also reported a case where somatosensory inputs from the hands, without movement, could modulate mental rotation processing.…”

Take a Seat and Get Into Its Shoes! When Humans Spontaneously Represent Visual Scenes From the Point of View of Inanimate Objects

“…This spontaneous tendency to adopt another agent’s perspective has been largely replicated (Conson et al., 2017; Furlanetto et al., 2013; Todd et al., 2011). At the psychological level, it is suggested that the occurrence of such a social phenomenon involves representing one’s own body as in the physical location of the other person (e.g., Gardner et al., 2017; Kessler & Rutherford, 2010; Kessler & Thomson, 2010; Michelon & Zacks, 2006; Surtees et al., 2013). By doing so, humans would be able to anticipate others’ behaviors, which would facilitate upcoming social interactions (Freundlieb et al., 2016).…”

Feeling Oneself Requires Embodiment: Insights From the Relationship Between Own-Body Transformations, Schizotypal Personality Traits, and Spontaneous Bodily Sensations

“…Since embodiment is related to the experience of one’s own body in the first-person perspective, changing perspective by mentally rotating the body image in order to judge whether it matches a visually presented figurine is challenging. Indeed, complex body-related mechanisms are required ( Blanke, 2005 ; Kaltner et al, 2014 ; van Elk and Blanke, 2014 ), such as flexible control of self-perspective-taking and disembodiment ( Arzy et al, 2007 ), and alignment of somatosensory and vestibular information ( Zacks et al, 1999 ; van Elk and Blanke, 2014 ; Gardner et al, 2017 ). Therefore, better performance in the OBT task (i.e., shorter RT and higher accuracy) suggests that changing self-perspective and disembodying is achieved more easily.…”

“…Since the correlation between OBT task performance and SPS perception was not perfect, the present experiment does not allow us to draw conclusions as to which of the processes involved in the OBT task determine the perception of SPS, or even to what degree. For instance, processes of spatial mental manipulation, attention, and simulation of sensory and vestibular information have been advanced as determinants of the ability to align one’s own body orientation to that of a third party and to perspective-taking ( Gardner et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Pesimena et al, 2019 ).…”