An Action Field Theory of Peripersonal Space
- PMID: 30337061
- PMCID: PMC6237614
- DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.09.004
An Action Field Theory of Peripersonal Space
Abstract
Predominant conceptual frameworks often describe peripersonal space (PPS) as a single, distance-based, in-or-out zone within which stimuli elicit enhanced neural and behavioural responses. Here we argue that this intuitive framework is contradicted by neurophysiological and behavioural data. First, PPS-related measures are not binary, but graded with proximity. Second, they are strongly influenced by factors other than proximity, such as walking, tool use, stimulus valence, and social cues. Third, many different PPS-related responses exist, and each can be used to describe a different space. Here, we reconceptualise PPS as a set of graded fields describing behavioural relevance of actions aiming to create or avoid contact between objects and the body. This reconceptualisation incorporates PPS into mainstream theories of action selection and behaviour.
Keywords: action selection; defence; egocentric coding; goal-oriented actions; motor system; perception and action.
Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Comment in
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High Action Values Occur Near Our Body.Trends Cogn Sci. 2019 Apr;23(4):269-270. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.01.001. Trends Cogn Sci. 2019. PMID: 30824226 No abstract available.
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The Value of Actions, in Time and Space.Trends Cogn Sci. 2019 Apr;23(4):270-271. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.01.011. Epub 2019 Feb 26. Trends Cogn Sci. 2019. PMID: 30824228 No abstract available.
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