Mechanisms for visually induced tickle sensation

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K20994
• Project/Area Number (Other): 18H05802 (2018)
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund (2019); Single-year Grants (2018)
• Review Section: 0110:Psychology and related fields
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Saito Godai 東北大学, 文学研究科, 助教 (70823772)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-08-24 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: くすぐったさ / 視触覚相互作用 / 身体周辺空間

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present study examined whether viewing hand movements that resemble tickling elicits a tickle sensation even though no part of the observer’s body is touched. We showed that the ticklishness was greater when participants viewed other-generated hand movements, compared to when they viewed self-generated hand movements. The results suggest that the visually induced tickle sensation involves the tactile-induced tickle sensation based on the mechanism that predicts the difference between self- and other-generated sensory consequences.

Free Research Field

実験心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

実際には触れられていなくともくすぐるような手の動きを見るだけでくすぐったさを感じることがある。本研究は，日常のなかで起き得る視覚から感じる触覚的な現象を複数感覚にまたがる情報処理システムの観点から検討することによって多感覚的な知覚の仕組みの理解をより推し進めるものである。