Tool use fine-tunes arm and tool maps

Abstract

There is evidence that the sensorimotor system builds fine-grained spatial maps of the limbs based on somatosensory signals. Can a hand-held tool be mapped in space with a comparable spatial resolution? Do spatial maps change following tool use? In order to address these questions, we used a spatial mapping task on healthy participants to measure the accuracy and precision of spatial estimates pertaining to several locations on their arm and on a hand-held tool. To study spatial accuracy, we first fitted linear regressions with real location as predictor and estimated location as dependent variables. Intercepts and slopes, representing constant offset and estimation error, were compared between arm and tool, and before to after tool use. We further investigated changes induced by tool use in terms of variable error associated with spatial estimates, representing their precision. We found that the spatial maps for the arm and tool were comparably accurate, suggesting that holding the tool provides enough information to the sensorimotor system to map it in space. Further, using the tool fine-tuned the user’s spatial maps, increasing the precision of the tool map to a greater extent than their arm map. Furthermore, this increased precision is focal to specific tool locations, i.e., the tool tip, which may work as a spatial anchor following tool use. Our results demonstrate that tool users possess dynamic maps of tool space that are comparable to body space.