INFLUENCES OF THE BODY SCHEMA ON MIRROR-TOUCH SYNESTHESIA: EXAMINING CROSSMODAL INTERFERENCE
Date
2018-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Mirror-touch synesthesia (MTS) individuals experience tactile sensations on their body while viewing another individual being touched. This type of synesthesia has been linked with empathy, where these individuals are more empathetic than controls. We examined both mirror-touch synesthetes and high/low empathy subjects in this study. Both groups, along with controls, watched videos of a hand on the computer screen being stimulated or not, while they were stimulated on either their index or ring fingers, or not stimulated at all. After viewing each video, the subjects had to respond to which side of their hand was stimulated with the corresponding foot pedal, as quickly and accurately as they could. We found that subjects with MTS percept were slower at this task and had more false alarms compared to controls. Subjects with MTS also experienced a somatotopic congruency effect, whereas empathy subjects experienced a spatial congruency effect. We found no other significant similarities between MTS subjects and empathy subjects. This raises the question of whether or not empathy is linked with MTS.
Description
Keywords
PSYCHOLOGY, BODY SCHEMA, SYNESTHESIA