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Influence of whole-body pitch tilt and kinesthetic cues on the perceived gravity-referenced eye level

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Abstract

We investigated the effects of whole body tilt and lifting the arm against gravity on perceptual estimates of the Gravity-Referenced Eye Level (GREL), which corresponds to the subjective earth-referenced horizon. The results showed that the perceived GREL was influenced by body tilt, that is, lowered with forward tilt and elevated with backward tilt of the body. GREL estimates obtained by arm movements without vision were more biased by whole-body tilt than purely visual estimates. Strikingly, visual GREL estimates became more dependent on whole-body tilt when the indication of level was obtained by arm lifting. These findings indicate that active motor involvement and/or the addition of kinesthetic information increases the body tilt-induced bias when making GREL judgements. The introduction of motor/kinaesthetic cues may induce a switch from a semi-geocentric to a more egocentric frame of reference. This result challenges the assumption that combining non-conflicting multiple sensory inputs and/or using intermodal information provided during action should improve perceptual performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Medical Research Council of the UK, by a post-doctoral study grant from the Fyssen Foundation and by the European Commission Improving Human Potential Programme, contract number HPRI-CT-1999-00025.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuro-Otology, Division of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College—Faculty of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 8RF, UK

    L. Bringoux, K. Tamura, M. Faldon, M. A. Gresty & A. M. Bronstein

  2. UMR CNRS 6559 ‘Mouvement et Perception’, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France

    L. Bringoux

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  1. L. Bringoux
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  2. K. Tamura
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  3. M. Faldon
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  4. M. A. Gresty
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  5. A. M. Bronstein
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Correspondence to A. M. Bronstein.

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Bringoux, L., Tamura, K., Faldon, M. et al. Influence of whole-body pitch tilt and kinesthetic cues on the perceived gravity-referenced eye level. Exp Brain Res 155, 385–392 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1742-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1742-8

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