Data from: Binding space and time through action

Space and time are intimately coupled dimensions in the human brain. Several lines of evidence suggest that space and time are processed by a shared analogue magnitude system. It has been proposed that actions are instrumental in establishing this shared magnitude system. Here we provide evidence in support of this hypothesis, by showing that the interaction between space and time is enhanced when magnitude information is acquired through action. Participants observed increases or decreases in the height of a visual bar (spatial magnitude) while judging whether a simultaneously presented sequence of acoustic tones had accelerated or decelerated (temporal magnitude). In one condition (Action), participants directly controlled the changes in bar height with a hand grip device, whereas in the other (No Action), changes in bar height were externally controlled but matched the spatial/temporal profile of the Action condition. The sign of changes in bar height biased the perceived rate of the tone sequences, where increases in bar height produced apparent increases in tone rate. This effect was amplified when the visual bar was actively controlled in the Action condition, and the strength of the interaction was scaled by the magnitude of the action. Subsequent experiments ruled out that this was simply explained by attentional factors, and additionally showed that a monotonic mapping is also required between grip force and bar height in order to bias the perception of the tones. These data provide support for an instrumental role of action in interfacing spatial and temporal quantities in the brain.

时空是人脑中紧密耦合的两个维度。多项实证研究表明，空间与时间由同一套类比量级系统（analogue magnitude system）进行加工处理。已有假说提出，动作在构建该共用量级系统的过程中具有工具性作用。本研究为该假说提供了实证支持：当通过动作获取量级信息时，空间与时间之间的交互作用会得到增强。实验中，被试需在观察视觉条形柱（visual bar）高度的增减变化，即空间量级（spatial magnitude）的同时，判断同时呈现的听觉音调序列是加速还是减速，即时间量级（temporal magnitude）。其中一组实验条件为动作组（Action）：被试通过握力装置（hand grip device）直接控制条形柱的高度变化；另一组为无动作组（No Action）：条形柱高度的变化由外部控制，但与动作组的空间与时间特征完全匹配。条形柱高度的变化方向会偏倚被试对音调序列速率的感知：条形柱高度升高时，被试会感知到音调速率明显加快。该效应在被试主动控制视觉条形柱的动作组中被进一步放大，且空间与时间交互作用的强度随动作幅度的大小呈比例变化。后续实验排除了仅由注意因素解释该结果的可能性，并进一步证实，还需握力与条形柱高度之间存在单调映射（monotonic mapping）关系，才能对音调感知产生偏倚。综上，本研究结果支持“动作在人脑内连接空间与时间量级的过程中发挥工具性作用”这一观点。