Feeling the danger: the role of action-induced touch in responding to threat

• Applicant: Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 574103474

The human sense of touch provides continuous information about the body and its surroundings, both through voluntary movement and external stimuli. In potentially threatening situations, the precise processing of touch is essential in order to enable an appropriate reaction. However, it is unclear how the perception of touch induced by one’s own movements (action-induced touch) changes in the face of a potential threat and to what extent visual feedback influences this perception. This project will investigate how the perception of action-induced touch changes in threatening situations and the extent to which visual feedback influences this perception. To this end, experiments will be conducted with young adults exhibiting subclinical spider fear. Participants will be shown either an aversive stimulus (a spider) or a neutral stimulus (a ladybird) on a screen, each of which will approach the body. Depending on the direction in which the stimulus is moving, participants will use their right hand to move a joystick to confront or avoid it. The tactile sensitivity of the moving hand will be assessed using tactile stimulation during movement. The following methods will be employed to comprehensively investigate the underlying processes: 1) Psychophysics: Assessing tactile perception in the active hand when interacting with a threatening stimulus. 2) Functional imaging (fMRI): Assessing cortical activation patterns associated with touch processing, action context and threat. 3) Physiological measurements: Assessing peripheral physiological parameters, including muscle sympathetic nerve activity, heart rate and skin conductance. By integrating these approaches, the project aims to improve our understanding of how the body processes touch under threat and how vision and touch interact under threat. Insights gained from the project could inform new approaches to treating anxiety disorders or phobias, where perception of threat and bodily sensations is often distorted.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Rochelle Ackerley, Ph.D.
• Co-Investigators: Professorin Dr. Ulrike Bingel; Professorin Dr. Katja Fiehler