Body-related neglect in tool use

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Wilfried Kunde
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 515514287

Human actions often aim at environment-related perceptual changes that contradict perceptual action consequences at the own body. This scenario is quite common when using real or virtual tools where seen movements of a tool can be in conflict with felt movements of the operating hand. Such conflict impairs the generation of tool movements and the perceptual embodiment of the tool, among other things. Preliminary work suggests that such intersensory conflict is overcome by downregulation of body-related perception during action production and possibly action execution (‘body-related neglect’). This proposal studies the ‘when’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of such downregulation. We will reveal its preconditions, time-point, content and mechanistic origin. Doing so will portray a comprehensive picture of a fundamental perceptual consequence of instrumental human action.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants