Here we present data corresponding to a study in which we investigated whether non-body specific and non-movement related auditory stimuli modulate body-representation. Drawing on the well-documented capacity of dynamic changes in pitch to elicit impressions of motion in the vertical direction, we asked participants to pull on their occluded right fingertip with their left hand while they were presented with sounds of rising, falling or constant pitch, across two experiments. Results showed that participants felt and estimated their finger to be longer during the rising pitch condition. Altogether these results substantially add to the literature on body plasticity showing that non-body specific sounds can change the mental representation of body size. The data in this collection are part of The Hearing Body project, a project investigating how the manipulation of action sounds may alter the mental representation of one's body and the related emotional state and body behaviour. Other data collections part of The Hearing Body project have been deposited (Please see Related Resources section below). All parts 1 to 6 consist of experimental data, but they are data from different studies. Part 1, 2 and 5 contain subjective reports and behavioural data, Part 3 and 4 contain subjective reports, behavioural data and data on electrodermal activity changes and Part 6 contains subjective reports, behavioural data and data on muscle activity changes (EMG). The mental representation we have of our body is essential for successful interaction with the environment. This representation is not fixed, but is continuously updated in response to the available sensory information. While previous studies have highlighted the role of vision, touch and proprioception in constructing the body-representation in the brain, the role of auditory information remains largely unknown. Interestingly, the sounds that accompany almost every bodily movement are highly rich in information about the body and the space immediately surrounding it. For instance, the sounds produced when tapping on a surface inform us about the length and strength of our arm. This project will investigate how auditory information generated by our bodies updates our body-representation. A series of psychological experiments will explore how altering self-produced sounds in real-time changes different body-representations, including the representation of the space surrounding the body, the potential actions that we can perform and the emotional states linked to our body capabilities. This multidisciplinary and innovative research project will provide novel insights into the nature of body-representations and, ultimately, guide the design of audio-based applications that can improve body-image, self-esteem, movement patterns and social interactions to support wellbeing and rehabilitation for people with movement impairments.
The user experience was evaluated by combining self-reporting (questionnaire on bodily feelings) and objective behavioural measures of elongation in the represented finger length. The physiological measures quantified the changes in muscle activity of participants’ hand during the finger pulling action.
