title: Left caloric vestibular stimulation as a tool to reveal implicit and explicit parameters of body representation.
abstract: Homeostatic parameters, such as temperature, are related to body representation. In this study, we measured whether caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) alters body temperature and tactile processing, and if in the direction predicted by a holistic body matrix representation. Skin temperature and tactile two-point discrimination (TPD) acuity were measured for both arms before, immediately after and with a delay from CVS. Participants were also administered a personality questionnaire and an anxiety inventory to rule out confounding factors. Two control experiments were planned to exclude casual variations. Our results show that temperature drops significantly in both arms after CVS. CVS also induces a bilateral improvement in tactile acuity (even though not immediately after but in the delayed condition). Finally, these effects are not due to learning, as demonstrated by the control experiment. In summary, our results suggest that vestibular stimulation updates body representation, supporting the evidence in favor of a body matrix.
authors.affiliation: Psychology, School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.sedda@hw.ac.uk.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sedda
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tonin
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy; Cognitive Neuropsychology Center, Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salvato
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gandola
authors.affiliation: Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy; Cognitive Neuropsychology Center, Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bottini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D002150:Caloric Tests; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012881:Skin Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body matrix; Body representation; Homeostasis; Tactile acuity; Vestibular system