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An object-centred reference frame for control of grasping: effects of grasping a distractor object on visuomotor control

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Abstract

Previous evidence based on perceptual integration and arbitrary responses suggests extensive cross-modal links in attention across the various modalities. Attention typically shifts to a common location across the modalities, despite the vast differences in their initial coding of space. An issue that remains unclear is whether or not these effects of multisensory coding occur during more natural tasks, such as grasping and manipulating three-dimensional objects. Using kinematic measures, we found strong effects of the diameter of a grasped distractor object on the aperture used to grasp a target object at both coincident and non-coincident locations. These results suggest that interference effects can occur between proprioceptive and visuomotor signals in grasping. Unlike other interference effects in cross-modal attention, these effects do not depend on the spatial relation between target and distractor, but occur within an object-based frame of reference.

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Notes

  1. On the other hand, this spatial redundancy effect seems to occur only when the stimuli to be discriminated are primarily represented in different cerebral hemispheres. Zampini et al. (2003) found that temporal order judgements do not depend on spatial separation when both are presented in one hemifield, while identical separations, which span the midline facilitate temporal order judgement.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Fondation Singer Polignac, Paris and the Wellcome Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, London, UK

    Sandhiran Patchay & Umberto Castiello

  2. Department of Psychology and Counselling, University of Greenwich, London, UK

    Sandhiran Patchay

  3. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University College London, London, UK

    Patrick Haggard

  4. Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Umberto Castiello

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  1. Sandhiran Patchay
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  2. Patrick Haggard
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  3. Umberto Castiello
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Correspondence to Umberto Castiello.

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Patchay, S., Haggard, P. & Castiello, U. An object-centred reference frame for control of grasping: effects of grasping a distractor object on visuomotor control. Exp Brain Res 170, 532–542 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0240-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0240-6

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