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. 2021 Dec 7:8:20556683211059389.
doi: 10.1177/20556683211059389. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Virtual Hand Illusion in younger and older adults

Jennifer L Campos  1   2 , Graziella El-Khechen Richandi  2   3 , Marge Coahran  2 , Lindsey E Fraser  4 , Babak Taati  2   5   6 , Behrang Keshavarz  2   7
Affiliations

Virtual Hand Illusion in younger and older adults

Jennifer L Campos et al. J Rehabil Assist Technol Eng. .

Abstract

Introduction: Embodiment involves experiencing ownership over our body and localizing it in space and is informed by multiple senses (visual, proprioceptive and tactile). Evidence suggests that embodiment and multisensory integration may change with older age. The Virtual Hand Illusion (VHI) has been used to investigate multisensory contributions to embodiment, but has never been evaluated in older adults. Spatio-temporal factors unique to virtual environments may differentially affect the embodied perceptions of older and younger adults.

Methods: Twenty-one younger (18-35 years) and 19 older (65+ years) adults completed the VHI paradigm. Body localization was measured at baseline and again, with subjective ownership ratings, following synchronous and asynchronous visual-tactile interactions.

Results: Higher ownership ratings were observed in the synchronous relative to the asynchronous condition, but no effects on localization/drift were found. No age differences were observed. Localization accuracy was biased in both age groups when the virtual hand was aligned with the real hand, indicating a visual mislocalization of the virtual hand.

Conclusions: No age-related differences in the VHI were observed. Mislocalization of the hand in VR occurred for both groups, even when congruent and aligned; however, tactile feedback reduced localization biases. Our results expand the current understanding of age-related changes in multisensory embodiment within virtual environments.

Keywords: Virtual Reality; aging, embodiment; avatar; localization; multisensory; perception; proprioception; rubber hand illusion.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Averaged scores for each of the ownership questionnaire items (see Table 1 for item number descriptions) for younger adults (left panel) and older adults (right panel) after synchronous and asynchronous tactile stimulation. Error bars represent SEM.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Boxplots showing the distribution of pointing results in relation to the actual position of the left index finger (cm) for older and younger adults at baseline (eyes open; eyes closed), with the VR hand visible (aligned with real hand; shifted towards the participant’s real body by 14 cm), and after tactile stimulation for both synchronous and asynchronous conditions. Positive values indicate a horizontal shift towards the right. Dots represent individual data points, and the red line indicates the mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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