Skip to main content
. 2018 Dec;22(12):1076–1090. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.09.004

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Many Peripersonal Space (PPS) Fields, Affected by Many Factors. As detailed in the main text, we propose a reconceptualisation of PPS as a set of fields reflecting the relevance of actions aimed at creating or avoiding contact between objects and the body. This figure illustrates the idea that there is not a single PPS, but that instead there are many PPS fields. (A) Heterogeneity of PPS fields. Different PPS fields can be derived from the many types of biological measure that differently depend on spatial proximity. Here, we show as an example the PPS fields derived from the modulation exerted by the proximity between a visual stimulus and the body on different biological measures: (i) the somatosensory-evoked eye blinking (green); (ii) the response of a visuotactile single neuron with a somatosensory receptive field on the chest (red); and (iii) the reaction times (RT) to somatosensory stimuli delivered to the hand (blue). Note how the same visual stimulus in an identical position elicits different responses and defines PPS fields with different spatial features. (B) Not just proximity: additional factors modulate PPS-related measures. Although the magnitude of PPS-related measures is commonly affected by proximity to a body part, many other factors also affect these PPS measures. Such factors include various types of motion: motion of a visual stimulus (i), stimulated limb (ii), and the entire body (iii) can all cause expansion of the response fields. Factors independent of motion also affect PPS measures: tool use can expand response fields (iv), a protective screen can deform them (v), and frightening sounds can expand them (vi). Response fields are colour-coded by the body part near which their magnitude is maximal: face (green), hand (blue), and trunk (red). Data reproduced, with permission, from 11, 13, 14, 25, 38, 54, 89.