Researchers from the University of Reading, Free University Amsterdam, and Minnesota have identified new connections between visual and touch processing in the brain. Their study, published in Nature on November 26, demonstrates that watching movies can activate areas of the brain responsible for processing touch.
The team analyzed brain activity in 174 participants as they watched films including "The Social Network" and "Inception." They found that regions previously believed to process only visual information also showed patterns reflecting sensations on the viewer's own body. These regions contained body maps similar to those found in touch-processing areas.
The research revealed two main ways these body maps align with visual input. In higher regions of the visual system, parts of the brain tuned to foot sensations corresponded to lower parts of a scene, while those tuned to face sensations matched upper areas. In lower regions, the mapping depended on which body part was being observed rather than its position within the scene.
Dr Hedger commented on potential clinical applications: "This discovery could transform how we understand conditions like autism.
Many theories suggest that internally simulating what we see helps us understand other people's experiences, and these processes may work differently in autistic people. Traditional sensory tests are exhausting, especially for children or people with clinical conditions. We can now measure these brain mechanisms while someone simply watches a film, opening up new possibilities for research and diagnosis."
