title: A New Illusion at Your Elbow.
abstract: On experiencing distal-proximal tactile motion on the volar side of the forearm starting at the wrist, subjects significantly anticipate touch of the elbow crook. This illusion, popular as a children's game, was quantified in ninety participants (forty-seven women) on both arms. As a top-down explanation of the illusion, we discuss a model of Bayesian inferences. As a bottom-up contribution, we consider afterdischarges of cortical neurons, which receive input from skin mechanoreceptors specifically driven by slow-motion tactile stimuli. Like previously described illusions, the elbow crook illusion is larger on the nondominant arm. Women showed a smaller illusion than men, giving testimony to their reportedly superior cutaneous sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 26, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland peter.brugger@usz.ch.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brugger
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 26, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rebekka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: children's game; cutaneous illusion; neurophysiology