Attenuation of Self-Generated Tactile Sensations Is Predictive, not Postdictive

When one finger touches the other, the resulting tactile sensation is perceived as weaker than the same stimulus externally imposed. This attenuation of sensation could result from a predictive process that subtracts the expected sensory consequences of the action, or from a postdictive process that alters the perception of sensations that are judged after the event to be self-generated. In this study we observe attenuation even when the fingers unexpectedly fail to make contact, supporting a predictive process. This predictive attenuation of self-generated sensation may have evolved to enhance the perception of sensations with an external cause.

• Publication year

  2006

• Venue

  PLoS Biology

• Publication date

  2006-01-17

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040028PMID 16402860PMCID 1334241
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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