Transfer of the curvature aftereffect in dynamic touch

Abstract

A haptic curvature aftereffect is a phenomenon in which the perception of a curved shape is systematically altered by previous contact to curvature. In the present study, the existence and intermanual transfer of curvature aftereffects for dynamic touch were investigated. Dynamic touch is characterized by motion contact between a finger and a stimulus. A distinction was made between active and passive contact of the finger on the stimulus surface. We demonstrated the occurrence of a dynamic curvature aftereffect and found a complete intermanual transfer of this aftereffect, which suggests that dynamically obtained curvature information is represented at a high level. In contrast, statically perceived curvature information is mainly processed at a level that is connected to a single hand, as previous studies indicated. Similar transfer effects were found for active and passive dynamic touch, but a stronger aftereffect was obtained when the test surface was actively touched. We conclude that the representation of object information depends on the exploration mode that is used to acquire information.