NEW
Use Autosuggestion to Modify Your Sensations
Autosuggestion is the inner reiteration of an idea with the goal of actively influencing one’s own perception (read the full review article). We tested the modulatory effect of autosuggestion on tactile perception by taking advantage of the known link between intensity and frequency perception in touch (‘Békésy effect’). Across three experiments, N = 77 participants were asked to modulate the perceived intensity of tactile stimuli at the fingertip through autosuggestion while reporting the perceived frequency. We provide the first experimental demonstration that autosuggestion can alter participants' tactile perception using a response orthogonal to the suggested variable. Our results have implications for the establishment of future complementary medical treatments. Read the full preprint here
Use Autosuggestion to Modify Your Sensations
Autosuggestion is the inner reiteration of an idea with the goal of actively influencing one’s own perception (read the full review article). We tested the modulatory effect of autosuggestion on tactile perception by taking advantage of the known link between intensity and frequency perception in touch (‘Békésy effect’). Across three experiments, N = 77 participants were asked to modulate the perceived intensity of tactile stimuli at the fingertip through autosuggestion while reporting the perceived frequency. We provide the first experimental demonstration that autosuggestion can alter participants' tactile perception using a response orthogonal to the suggested variable. Our results have implications for the establishment of future complementary medical treatments. Read the full preprint here
OPINION
Clinical Manifestations of Body Memories
Body memories can be defined as the sum of all bodily experiences that are stored in memory and influence behavior. We identify mechanisms that give rise to Clinical Body Memories (CBMs) that influence chronic pain, trauma or dissociative disorders. We explain why the investigation of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the storage and retrieval of body memories provides us with empirical access to reduce the negative impact of body memories on mental health. Read the full Opinion article here
Clinical Manifestations of Body Memories
Body memories can be defined as the sum of all bodily experiences that are stored in memory and influence behavior. We identify mechanisms that give rise to Clinical Body Memories (CBMs) that influence chronic pain, trauma or dissociative disorders. We explain why the investigation of the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the storage and retrieval of body memories provides us with empirical access to reduce the negative impact of body memories on mental health. Read the full Opinion article here
TREND
ERC Starting Grant 2020 on "Body Memory"
In 2020, I received an ERC Starting Grant on "Body Memory" to investigate the neuronal basis of body memories, their clinical manifestations, and potential ways of alteration. This exciting research line combines basic research, applied research and application by combining functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, behavioral assessments, full-body, advanced VR technology and clinical investigations to understand how past bodily experiences influence mental health. Read more about the research.
ERC Starting Grant 2020 on "Body Memory"
In 2020, I received an ERC Starting Grant on "Body Memory" to investigate the neuronal basis of body memories, their clinical manifestations, and potential ways of alteration. This exciting research line combines basic research, applied research and application by combining functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, behavioral assessments, full-body, advanced VR technology and clinical investigations to understand how past bodily experiences influence mental health. Read more about the research.
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KEY-FINDING
Non-afferent topographic maps in human SI The human primary somatosensory cortex area 3b has long been believed to code self-perceived (afferent) touch only. We show using 7 Tesla fMRI that feeling touch on the hand and observing touch at another person's hand activates similar fine-grained topographic maps in area 3b. This has implications for the role of area 3b in encoding non-afferent tactile events, such as imagined or memorized tactile and bodily events. Read the full articles : [link] [link] RESEARCH
Impaired remapping of social relationships in older adults Social relationships are a central aspect of our everyday life and are critical to maintain mental health. Yet, our ability to adapt to changes in social relationships is an under-investigated topic. In this article, we combine virtual reality (VR) with a social interaction paradigm and show that younger adults alter their behavioral pattern when an avatar changes its behavior (in the domains "power" and "affiliation"), whereas older adults show a reduction in such a "remapping" of social space. Our data provide first evidence that older adults have impaired abilities to "remap" the social space, similar to their impairments in remapping spatial environments during spatial navigation. Read the full article: [link] REVIEW
How visual body perception influences somatosensory plasticity Vision influences tactile processing. We here provide an overview about how viewing the body influences plasticity mechanisms in the human somatosensory cortex. This review offers a contribution to understanding the complex interactions between social perception and somatosensory learning by focusing on the exciting research fiel of socially-mediated sensory plasticity. Read the full article: [link] |
+++ IN THE NEWS +++
Blog: Wie sich dein Körper erinnert
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