Abstract
The purpose of the present research was to extend previous explorations of the processes by which task-specific objects are incorporated into our body schema and movement repertoire (i.e., tool appropriation). Previous research on tool appropriation suggests that through physical interaction with a tool in real time, the representation of our body is adjusted to “embody” the tool. As a result of the interaction, this dynamic change in body representation remains regardless of maintaining a physical connection with this tool. In the present experiment, tool embodiment was examined by asking participants to complete a body-part compatibility task in which they executed hand- and foot-press responses to coloured targets superimposed on the hand, foot and rake of a digital image before and after learning to use a rake. Consistent with previous research on the body-part compatibility effect, response times (RTs) were shortest when the responding limb and the target location were compatible (e.g., hand responses to targets on the hand) than when they were incompatible (e.g., hand responses to targets on the foot). Of greater theoretical relevance was the effect of tool-use on RTs to targets on the rake. After interacting with a rake, there was a significant reduction in the hand RTs to targets on the rake (p<0.05), with no significant changes in hand RTs to targets on the foot or hand (p>0.05). These results suggest that through physical interaction, a tool can become represented within the cortex as if it were a part of the human body.Acknowledgments: This research was supported by grants from NSERC and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.