Comprehension of the perceptual outcomes of touch – COMTACT
Comprehension of the perceptual outcomes of touch
Tactile perception relies on the stimulation of skin mechanoreceptors and on the processing of the evoked response in the brain. To our knowledge, little research has been devoted to uncovering the cascade of the whole “perception chain”, i.e. from the mechanical stimuli, through the signal conversion and transmission, up to the higher-order neural processes related to the interaction of the body part with the surface.
The main objective of our proposal is to uncover how the nervous system transforms the mechanical properties of a surface to the perceptual outcomes of touch.
We hypothesize that the brain may upregulate sensory processes arising from self-generated movements (i.e. active condition), as for the hand engaged in tactile discrimination task (i.e. freely exploring tasks, during a voluntary hand or foot movement). Inversely, such cortical facilitation should not occur during motion of the surface underneath stationary fingers or feet (i.e. when the body segment is passively stimulated, passive condition). In addition, the quality of the texture perception, as well as its affective outcome, are built and updated by multiple sensory modalities (not solely tactile) evoked by the movement of the hand when exploring a surface. We hypothesize that although tactile inputs are faithfully transmitted to the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), other bodily-generated input occurring with the movement (e.g. visual or auditory inputs) may change the perceptual outcome.
The project will use methods to analyse the neural bases of the sensorimotor control of movements (EEG), the analysis of vibration spectra induced by scanning a real or simulated surface, and the conscious and emotional evaluation of these surfaces (Psychophysic tests)
The partners of the ANR COMTACT project have, to date produced textured surfaces according to specific designs, consisting for example in using the dermatoglyphs and tactile receptors characteristics. They then analyzed the properties of surface skin interaction, the resulting neural activity in different brain areas, and the perceptual outcome of touch.
To be presented when the project will be more advanced
Danna, J., Nordlund, M., Louber, D., Moré, S., & Mouchnino, L. (2022). Overpressure on fingertips prevents state estimation of the pen grip force and movement accuracy. Experimental Brain Research, 240(1), 189-198.
Sutter, C., Fabre, M., Massi, F., Blouin, J., & Mouchnino, L. (2022). When mechanical engineering inspired from physiology improves postural-related somatosensory processes. bioRxiv.
Most of our daily interactions with the environment are based on tactile exploration (e.g., with objects or the surface supporting the feet). Tactile perception relies on the stimulation of skin receptors and on the processing of the evoked response in the brain. Up to now, a few research has been devoted to uncover the cascade of the whole “perception chain”, i.e., from the mechanical stimuli, through the signal conversion and transmission, up to the higher-order neural processes related to the interaction of the body part with the surface. Intriguingly, most of the investigations in the field of sensorimotor control has ignored the mechanical characteristics of the surface in contact with the body and, inversely, most of the research in the field of engineering and mechanics of surfaces (or fabrics) have ignored the brain mechanisms involved in the processing of the peripheral tactile inputs. The aim of this project is to understand the perceptual outcomes of touch.
Project coordination
Laurence Mouchnino (Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives)
The author of this summary is the project coordinator, who is responsible for the content of this summary. The ANR declines any responsibility as for its contents.
Partner
LaMCoS LABORATOIRE DE MECANIQUE DES CONTACTS ET DES STRUCTURES
LEAD LABORATOIRE D'ETUDE DE L'APPRENTISSAGE ET DU DEVELOPPEMENT - UMR 5022
CNRS DR12 - LNC Laboratoire de neurosciences cognitives
LPMT LABORATOIRE DE PHYSIQUE ET MECANIQUE TEXTILES (LPMT) - UR 4365
Help of the ANR 580,145 euros
Beginning and duration of the scientific project:
October 2020
- 48 Months
