How Our Brains Trick Us into Feeling a Bigger Hand

Have you ever felt like your hand was bigger than it really is? Scientists found that when people see a visual stimulus near their hidden hand and feel a touch at the same time, their brain tricks them into thinking their hand is larger. This is called visual-tactile ventriloquism aftereffect. The study wanted to know if this recalibration happens for each touch or for the whole hand. They had participants hide their left hand and showed them visual stimuli with spatial offsets, making it seem like their hand was bigger.

After recalibration, participants pointed to where they felt touch and judged the distance between two touches. They pointed as if their hand was larger, even for new spots not paired with visuals. But they weren't always accurate in judging distances. This shows that our brain adjusts our body map in specific ways, not as a general rule.

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