Understanding others' tactile sensations is a fundamental component of social behaviour. This complex process is most likely supported by a 'mirror' network for touch, which allows for an automatic and unconscious simulation of others' somatic states [1]. In everyday life, we are typically unaware of this process, because the system is physiologically active below the threshold of perceptual awareness. In a minority of persons with synaesthesia, however, the sight of a touch on another person elicits conscious tactile experiences on their own bodies - mirror-touch synaesthesia [2]. This peculiar crossmodal experience has been attributed to an unusual activation of the mirror mechanisms for touch - a visual stimulus that elicits a tactile sensation [3] - but this hypothesis requires empirical support. Here, we report the existence of a causal brain-behaviour relationship between increased excitability of two key areas of the tactile mirror system and the emergence of synaesthesia-like effects in non-synaesthetes. Furthermore, we show that individual differences in empathic capacity may modulate the ability to resonate with others' somatic feelings.
Induction of mirror-touch synaesthesia by increasing somatosensory cortical excitability / N., Bolognini; Miniussi, Carlo; S., Gallo; G., Vallar. - In: CURRENT BIOLOGY. - ISSN 0960-9822. - 2013:10(2013), pp. 436-437. [10.1016/j.cub.2013.03.036]
Induction of mirror-touch synaesthesia by increasing somatosensory cortical excitability
Miniussi, Carlo;
2013-01-01
Abstract
Understanding others' tactile sensations is a fundamental component of social behaviour. This complex process is most likely supported by a 'mirror' network for touch, which allows for an automatic and unconscious simulation of others' somatic states [1]. In everyday life, we are typically unaware of this process, because the system is physiologically active below the threshold of perceptual awareness. In a minority of persons with synaesthesia, however, the sight of a touch on another person elicits conscious tactile experiences on their own bodies - mirror-touch synaesthesia [2]. This peculiar crossmodal experience has been attributed to an unusual activation of the mirror mechanisms for touch - a visual stimulus that elicits a tactile sensation [3] - but this hypothesis requires empirical support. Here, we report the existence of a causal brain-behaviour relationship between increased excitability of two key areas of the tactile mirror system and the emergence of synaesthesia-like effects in non-synaesthetes. Furthermore, we show that individual differences in empathic capacity may modulate the ability to resonate with others' somatic feelings.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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