How do visual and postural cues combine for self-tilt perception during slow pitch rotations?

• Published in: Acta psychologica 2014-11, Vol.153, p.51-59
• Main Authors: Scotto Di Cesare, C., Buloup, F., Mestre, D.R., Bringoux, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arm pointing; Biological and medical sciences; Cognitive science; Cues; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Multimodal perception; Multisensory integration; Orientation - physiology; Perception; Postural orientation; Posture - physiology; Proprioception - physiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rotation; Self Concept; Self-tilt perception; Space Perception - physiology; Spatial orientation; Vision; Visual orientation; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0001-6918; 1873-6297
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.09.005

Self-orientation perception relies on the integration of multiple sensory inputs which convey spatially-related visual and postural cues. In the present study, an experimental set-up was used to tilt the body and/or the visual scene to investigate how these postural and visual cues are integrated for self-tilt perception (the subjective sensation of being tilted). Participants were required to repeatedly rate a confidence level for self-tilt perception during slow (0.05°·s−1) body and/or visual scene pitch tilts up to 19° relative to vertical. Concurrently, subjects also had to perform arm reaching movements toward a body-fixed target at certain specific angles of tilt. While performance of a concurrent motor task did not influence the main perceptual task, self-tilt detection did vary according to the visuo-postural stimuli. Slow forward or backward tilts of the visual scene alone did not induce a marked sensation of self-tilt contrary to actual body tilt. However, combined body and visual scene tilt influenced self-tilt perception more strongly, although this effect was dependent on the direction of visual scene tilt: only a forward visual scene tilt combined with a forward body tilt facilitated self-tilt detection. In such a case, visual scene tilt did not seem to induce vection but rather may have produced a deviation of the perceived orientation of the longitudinal body axis in the forward direction, which may have lowered the self-tilt detection threshold during actual forward body tilt. •Self-tilt perception was investigated during slow visual scene and body pitch tilts.•Slow visual scene tilts alone led to limited self-tilt perception.•Perceived self-tilt depended on the relative direction of visual scene and body tilt.•Performance of a concurrent pointing task did not change self-tilt perception.