Sensorimotor Oscillations During a Reciprocal Touch Paradigm With a Human or Robot Partner

Robots provide an opportunity to extend research on the cognitive, perceptual, and neural processes involved in social interaction. This study examined how sensorimotor oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG) activity can be influenced by the perceived nature of a task partner – human or robot – during a novel “reciprocal touch” paradigm. Twenty adult participants viewed a demonstration of a robot that could “feel” tactile stimulation through a haptic sensor on its hand and “see” changes in light through a photoreceptor at the level of the eyes; the robot responded to touch or changes in light by moving a contralateral digit. During EEG collection, participants engaged in a joint task that involved sending tactile stimulation to a partner (robot or human) and receiving tactile stimulation back. Tactile stimulation sent by the participant was initiated by a button press and was delivered 1500 ms later via an inflatable membrane on the hand of the human or on the haptic sensor of the robot partner. Stimulation to the participant’s finger (from the partner) was sent on a fixed schedule, regardless of partner type. We analyzed activity of the sensorimotor mu rhythm during anticipation of tactile stimulation to the right hand, comparing mu activity at central electrode sites when participants believed that tactile stimulation was initiated by a robot or a human, and to trials in which “nobody” received stimulation. There was a significant difference in contralateral mu rhythm activity between anticipating stimulation from a human partner and the “nobody” condition. This effect was less pronounced for anticipation of stimulation from the robot partner. Analyses also examined beta rhythm responses to the execution of the button press, comparing oscillatory activity when participants sent tactile stimulation to the robot or the human partner. The extent of beta rebound at frontocentral electrode sites following the button press differed between conditions, with a significantly larger increase in beta power when participants sent tactile stimulation to a robot partner compared to the human partner. This increase in beta power may reflect greater predictably in event outcomes. This new paradigm and the novel findings advance the neuroscientific study of human–robot interaction

Spartan Daily, November 2, 1999

Volume 113, Issue 45https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9474/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of management of Stress in Cancer Patients through Shirodhara w.s.r. to Cancer Metastasis and Stress Hormones - A Review

The psychosocial factors on the development and progression of cancer have been a longstanding hypothesis since ancient times. In fact, epidemiological and clinical studies over past 30 years have provided strong evidence for links between chronic stress, depression, social isolation and cancer progression. By contrast, there is only limited intervention for managing behavioral factors in cancer progression. The major cause of death in cancer is metastasis that is resistant to conventional therapy. The outcome of cancer metastasis depends on multiple interactions between metastatic cells and homeostatic environment of the body. Epinephrine Norepinephrine Cortisol Catecholamine’s are known to be elevated in individuals with stress. The physiological stress response is thought to be one of the likely mediators in cancer progression, Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis is considered to be the main neurophysiological mechanism of Shirodhara, the tactile stimulation of skin or hair follicles innervated by Trigeminal cranial nerve stimulate the thalamus and provide the subject an altered state of consciousness and a relief from anxiety, stress and depression. Other route from the principal nucleus to the reticular formation and posterior region of thalamus, which is Centre of autonomic nervous system, would be possible. This provides changes in autonomic nervous balance, Shirodhara can be treated as a good option to prevent stress and maintain homeostasis

Interactive Art and the Action of Behavioral Aesthetics in Embodied Philosophy

https://digitalmaine.com/academic/1004/thumbnail.jp

The Ascent, 1984 March 29

Student newspaper of Daemen College (formerly Rosary Hill College)

Body Conjunction = Wavering Between Actual and Virtual Spaces

In the present digital age, the body tends to extend beyond it being flesh, it can be extended, it is a body without organs, and it might belong to more than your own-self. The “Body” as a living entity with its embedded sensory system, not only embodies who we are but also lets us understand and explore the sensitive, unpredictable but fascinating world. The body is an information receiver as well as information reactor. Through years of medical experiments and research on the body, medical devices and instruments are able to allow us to look into the deepest and the most mysterious spots in the human body. For instance, if seen through an HD monitor, while being probed by an endoscope, the body appears as an immersive and infinite landscape. By observing the smoothness and the folds of the surfaces encountered within the body, it is quite simple to project your individual self into this body-scape for a while to imagine and experience this immersive organic space. Various potential ideas of designing a body-like space have become the subject of design fantasies of a number of architects. The “Vitruvian Man”, which, Vitruvius described in the third book of De Architectura, and was later interpreted and illustrated by Leonardo DaVinci, has served as the human figure/body representation to be used as a measuring unit rather than being considered as a sensitive object. Unsurprisingly, it was a relatively long journey for architects to abandon this dogma. After the industrial revolution (during the modernist era), the concrete evidence of considering body proportions as potential measurements could still be seen in the projects of Le Corbusier, which accompanied his famous school of thought: “A house is a machine for living”. He developed the “Modular” in a mathematical proportion of space based on figures and intended to replace the old Vitruvian man with it as a new generation’s typical model. However, with the rapid development of electronic technology, the trend of realizing sensory environments akin to living bodies has no longer remained a thought but can be seen as an initial action to refuse to see the human body merely as a measuring unit. The turning point came about the time while the medium of news media, television, and social media became relatively mature, and thus started making people conduct critical reflections. Marshall McLuhan, a well-known pioneering media theorist, stated in his well-known publication, “Understanding Media: The Extension of Man” (McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1964). This explicit shot made the researcher foresee the potential and intimate relationships between the body, technology, and space, and somehow have a rational explanation to extend the physical body to endless space, which is crucial in this chapter