Examining tactile spatial remapping using transcranial magnetic stimulation

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Jared Medina ◽  
Shaan Khurshid ◽  
Roy H. Hamilton ◽  
H. Branch Coslett

Previous research has provided evidence for two stages of tactile processing (e.g., Azañon and Soto-Faraco, 2008; Groh and Sparks, 1996). First, tactile stimuli are represented in a somatotopic representation that does not take into account body position in space, followed by a representation of body position in external space (body posture representation, see Medina and Coslett, 2010). In order to explore potential functional and neural dissociations between these two stages of processing, we presented eight participants with TMS before and after a tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task (see Yamamoto and Kitazawa, 2001). Participants were tested with their hands crossed and uncrossed before and after 20 min of 1 Hz repetitive TMS (rTMS). Stimulation occurred at the left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS, somatotopic representation) or left Brodmann Area 5 (BA5, body posture) during two separate sessions. We predicted that left aIPS TMS would affect a somatotopic representation of the body, and would disrupt performance in both the uncrossed and crossed conditions. However, we predicted that TMS of body posture areas (BA5) would disrupt mechanisms for updating limb position with the hands crossed, resulting in a paradoxical improvement in performance after TMS. Using thresholds derived from adaptive staircase procedures, we found that left aIPS TMS disrupted performance in the uncrossed condition. However, left BA5 TMS resulted in a significant improvement in performance with the hands crossed. We discuss these results with reference to potential dissociations of the traditional body schema.

Perception ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valéry Legrain ◽  
Louise Manfron ◽  
Marynn Garcia ◽  
Lieve Filbrich

How we perceive our body is shaped by sensory experiences with our surrounding environment, as witnessed by poor performance in tasks during which participants judge with their hands crossed the temporal order between two somatosensory stimuli, one applied on each hand. This suggests that somatosensory stimuli are not only processed according to a somatotopic representation but also a spatiotopic representation of the body. We investigated whether the perception of stimuli occurring in external space, such as visual stimuli, can also be influenced by the body posture and somatosensory stimuli. Participants performed temporal order judgements on pairs of visual stimuli, one in each side of space, with their hands uncrossed or crossed. In Experiment 1, participants’ hands were placed either near or far from the visual stimuli. In Experiment 2, the visual stimuli were preceded, either by 60 ms or 360 ms, by tactile stimuli applied on the hands placed near the visual stimuli. Manipulating the time interval was intended to activate either a somatotopic or a spatiotopic representation of somatic inputs. We did not obtain any evidence for an influence of body posture on visual temporal order judgment, suggesting that body perception is less relevant for processing extrabody stimuli than the reverse.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marília Fernandes Andrade ◽  
Érika de Cássia Lopes Chaves ◽  
Michele Rita Oliveira Miguel ◽  
Talita Prado Simão ◽  
Denismar Alves Nogueira ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVE To investigate the body posture of nursing students before and after clinical practice. METHOD The study was developed in two stages. Initially the body posture of students of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th periods were assessed through photogrammetry. All images were analyzed in a random and masked manner with CorporisPro® 3.1.3 software. Three evaluations were performed for each angle and then the mean value was calculated. Two years later, when the 4th period students had developed their clinical internships, their body posture was again evaluated. RESULTS The total sample consisted of 112 students. Comparison of their posture with the normality pattern showed that all the angles presented significant differences (p< 0.00), except for the angle of the Thales triangle. Reassessment of these students evidenced significant differences in the angles of the acromioclavicular joint (p=0.03), knee flexion (p< 0.00) and in the tibiotarsal angle (p< 0.00). CONCLUSION All the students presented alterations when compared to the normality values. The segments that presented significant differences between before and after practice were the acromioclavicular angle, knee flexion, and tibiotarsal angle; the latter two were in the rolling position.


Crustaceana ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 86 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1695-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Allen ◽  
A. G. Lewis

Locomotor appendage-body relationships were used to examine whether swimming or reduction in sinking rate is the more important function in the second nauplius and copepodid stages of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837). Except for the similarity in swimming appendage surface areas without setae, the appendages of the two stages are morphologically distinct. Although the nauplius is smaller than the copepodid it has long slender appendages that, with setae, provide greater total surface area than the paddle-shaped copepodid thoracic legs. Copepodid thoracic legs are more similar to those used for swimming by planktonic copepods although with more limited propulsion capability. Naupliar appendages project from the body while copepodid appendages can be folded against the ventral surface, improving hydrodynamic flow as well as body position after attachment to a host. Both copepodid and naupliar appendages are of sufficient size that they should provide escape velocities of more than 100 mm ⋅ s−1. The nature and display of the naupliar appendages suggest they could be used to reduce sinking rate by as much as 64%, reducing the need to swim to maintain a suitable location in the water. Although copepodid thoracic legs could reduce sinking rate by over 40%, their position on the ventral surface and the nature of other appendages suggests a more important use, for orientation and attachment once a host is located.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regine Zopf ◽  
Veronika Kosourikhina ◽  
Kevin R. Brooks ◽  
Vince Polito ◽  
Ian Stephen

Estimating the size of bodies is crucial for interactions with physical and social environments. Body size perception is malleable and can be altered using visual adaptation paradigms. However, it is unclear whether such visual adaptation effects also transfer to other modalities and influence, for example, the perception of tactile distances. In this study we employed a visual adaptation paradigm. Participants were exposed to images of expanded or contracted versions of self- or other-identity bodies. Before and after this adaptation they were asked to manipulate the width of body images to appear as “normal” as possible. We replicated an effect of visual adaptation, such that the body size selected as most “normal” was larger after exposure to expanded and thinner after exposure to contracted adaptation stimuli. In contrast, we did not find evidence that this adaptation effect transfers to distance estimates for paired tactile stimuli delivered to the abdomen. A Bayesian analysis showed that our data provide moderate evidence that there is no effect of visual body size adaptation on the estimation of spatial parameters in a tactile task. This suggests that visual body size adaptation effects do not transfer to somatosensory body size representations.


Author(s):  
Inga DABOLINA ◽  
Jelizaveta Fomina ◽  
Eva Lapkovska ◽  
Liene Silina

Correct body posture is a balanced musculoskeletal body position; however, today many people face severe posture defects, and their body posture may be far from a normal, causing progressive musculoskeletal deformities and pain, as well as affecting the functionality and appearance of the body. Human daily habits, lack of physical activities and overall a sedentary lifestyle cause such phenomena. The research focuses on studies of human body measurements and body characteristics while wearing posture-corrective equipment for the assessment of the effectiveness of different posture correctors (abbreviated as PoC). Four test-persons were selected and scanned using 3D anthropometrical scanner in relaxed stand position wearing five different posture correctors for a prolonged period of time in order to determine the effectiveness and functionality of each PoC. Four distance (linear) human body measurements were gained to quantify postural changes - scapula position depth, upper torso position, shoulder projection height and hip-waist depth. General feedbacks on each subject impression of wearing PoCs were also received. Correction of posture could serve as a preventive or treatment for spine-related problems; though, commercially available correctors could negatively affect wearer’s health due to non-conformity of the design and/or used material. Therefore, PoC selection and wearing procedures should be solved with more personalized and customized approaches.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-105
Author(s):  
O. A. Vinogradova ◽  
S. P. Sovenko

In race walking, the reliability of competitive activity, the risks of disqualification are determined by athlete's stable control of the key motion characteristics at a distance, especially in the face of fatigue. Therefore, the formation of specialized sensations in an athlete to control these movements is an important condition for sports technique improvement. Hypothesis of study: the use of special exercises to increase the analytical perception of motion key parameters will increase the effectiveness of race walking technique, control for fatigue development. Objective of study: to show the possibilities of increasing special fitness in race walking through the use of special exercises, improvement of the analytical perception of motion key parameters. Subjects and methods of study: 10 athletes aged 17-20 years and engaged in sports training for 4-6 years participated in the study. Special exercises, assessment of race walking technique (video shooting) before and after their performance within three weeks (10 sessions) were used. Results: it is shown that the targeted use of special exercises with the analysis of subjective sensations creates conditions for the activation in the athlete of specialized perceptions for the basic sports technique elements. After the use of special exercises, the increase in speed was due to an increase in the stride length - 1.14 m (S = 0.04), relative to the initial one - 1.09 m (S = 0.03) (p < 0.01). The stride length increase in athletes occurred at the expense of the length of the “rear” stride ( = 0.43 м; S = 0.02) at statistically significant differences from the initial indices. This created the prerequisites for improving athletic performance. Conclusions. Special exercises focusing on key parameters of movements contribute to increase of technical fitness of race walkers. The proposed approach creates the prerequisites for further research on the formation of the motor composition of the skill of body position accuracy, the development of sensations of free movement, inertia, liberation from excessive degrees of freedom in the parts of the body with account for the functional state of the athlete.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Michael Iannacone ◽  
Jared Medina

We examined the effects of the rubber hand illusion on representing tactile stimuli using the Simon effect. In a tactile Simon effect task, participants are instructed to make intensity judgments (using foot pedal responses) to tactile stimuli presented to the hands. Participants are faster when the tactile stimulus and response foot are on the same versus opposite side of the body, regardless of whether the limbs are crossed or uncrossed. Furthermore, participants are faster overall when the hands are crossed versus uncrossed. In this study, participants engaged in a tactile Simon effect experiment with rubber hands positioned directly above the participants’ hidden hands, and with real and rubber hands stroked before each experimental block. Each participant was tested in four blocks, manipulating real and rubber hand position (crossed or uncrossed). First, we found that participants responded faster with real or rubber hands crossed, demonstrating that crossing the hands (real or rubber) can hasten tactile intensity judgments. Furthermore, on trials when the rubber hands were crossed, high ownership ratings for the rubber hand were significantly correlated with faster reaction times. Finally, we found a significantly more robust Simon effect when the rubber hands (but not real hands) were crossed. We discuss these findings with reference to how integration of rubber hands into the body schema influences how we represent the location of tactile stimuli.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Dżesika Aksamit ◽  
Tomasz Sidor ◽  
Adrian Gądek ◽  
Agnieszka Jankowicz-Szymańska

Introduction: Postural abnormalities are common in every age group. They often involve discomfort or pain. Unfortunately, specialist posture correcting body postures are almost exclusively for pre-school and school children. There is a widespread belief in the beneficial effects of swimming on the body posture. Some even think that swimming can replace corrective exercises. The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in the quality of body posture and body balance under the influence of 60-minute intensive swimming training in people aged 20-22 years, whose level of swimming skills was determined as average. Material and methods: The study was conducted on a group of 9 people, students of the State Higher Vocational School in Tarnów. Ultrasonic device Zebris Pointer was used for three-dimensional assessment of body posture. The position of the shoulder and iliac girdle, the shape of the spine, the inclination of the sacrum bone and the inclination of the body in the sagittal and frontal plane were analyzed. The test was repeated before and after the one-hour lecture and before and after one-hour, intensive classes at the swimming pool. The results were developed in the Statistika v10 program. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric Friedman test and Kruskal posthoc test were used. The significance level α = 0.05 was assumed. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in pelvic rotation under the influence of swimming training. There was also a slight deterioration of the spine position in the frontal plane. Exercises improving swimming in the classic style did not affect the depth of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. After 60 minutes spent in a relaxed sitting position, deepening thoracic kyphosis was observed. However, this change was not statistically significant. Conclusions: It is not recommended to treat swimming as a substitute for corrective gymnastics. Intensive swimming training can exacerbate existing body posture errors in people who are just improving their swimming technique.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
Ali Golchini ◽  
◽  
Nader Rahnama ◽  

Objectives: Pronation distortion syndrome is one of the common physical deformities, that causes distortions in the skeletal structures of the feet. The current study aimed to determine the effects of 12 weeks of systematic and functional corrective exercises on the body posture of students with pronation distortion syndrome.  Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 30 volunteers suffering from pronation distortion syndrome were selected. Then, they were randomly divided into two 15-member groups, i.e. the experimental and the control groups. The experimental group practiced systematic and functional corrective exercises for 12 weeks (three sessions a week, each lasting an hour), while the control group did not receive any exercises. Before and after the exercises, the students were evaluated using the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) screening test as well as body posture tests, including flat feet, pronation angle of ankle joint, knock-knee (bow-leggedness or genu valgum), and lumbar lordosis (swayback). The obtained data were analyzed using the dependent and independent t-tests (P<0.05).  Results: After 12 weeks of systematic and functional corrective exercises, the experimental group showed significant improvement in FMS and body posture (P=0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in the control group (P<0.05). In general, the body posture of the experimental group was significantly better than the control group (P=0.001).  Discussion: Based on the findings of the current study, systematic and functional corrective exercises improve the body posture of students suffering from pronation distortion syndrome. Therefore, these exercises are recommended for such students.


Author(s):  
Cristian Fernando Shiraishi ◽  
Afonso Shiguemi Inoue Salgado ◽  
Ivo Ilvan Kerppers ◽  
Meiriélly Furmann ◽  
Thais Barbosa De Oliveira ◽  
...  

Introduction: The concept of body posture involves balance, neuromuscular coordination and adaptation. Automatic postural responses are adjusted to meet the needs of interaction between systems of postural organization and the environment. Postural control is to maintain body position seeking stability and orientation in space, and the maintenance of posture and balance is directly related to three main systems: visual, vestibular and proprioceptive, whose junction ensures body balance. Other factors may be related to this control, such as the use of prostheses, among them the dentures that provide the balance of the mouth and jaws, through neuromuscular balance, helping to balance the body as a whole. Stabilometry assesses postural balance through the quantification of postural sway in the orthostatic position on a force platform. Objective: To evaluate the influence of the use of dental prostheses in maintaining balance and posture through baropodometry. Method: The study included 10 women with an average age of 65 years old, all using dental prosthesis, which remained on the platform for 30 seconds, with the prosthesis, repeating the procedure without the use of the prosthesis. Results: As the postural balance is given by the sum of the balance of all body structures, where all must be wholesome, and may include dental arch, in this case replaced by dental prosthesis, there was a direct contribution of using it over body balance as a whole, since there was a decrease in the number of oscillations of the body centroid and radial displacement, among individuals who use dental prosthesis. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that there is a direct influence of the use of dental prostheses on posture and body balance.


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