Science Daily reports that recent research done by the Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group indicates that the brain processes tactile input subconsciously. It suggests that when sensory input is received, the first thing the brain tries to do is discern the spatial coordinates of the input:
“The main finding of the study is that it has enabled us to confirm that tactile sensations are initially located unconsciously in anatomical coordinates, but they reach our awareness only when the brain has formed an image of their origin in the spatial coordinates, external to the body,” The coexistence of different spatial reference frames in the brain has been known for some time. So has the fact that confusions between them may result in some cases, such as when we invert the usual anatomical position of some body parts (e.g. when crossing our arms over the body midline). “The brain sorts out problems of this kind rapidly, in a matter of tenths of a second. To do so, however, it has to integrate information arriving in formats that are quite disparate”, Sotoa-Faraco added. “Our research has helped us understand how this process works and how the brain manages spatial realignment when faced with conflict”, he concluded.
This has fascinating implications. The article goes on to describe the tests they used. I wonder what the results would have been if the individuals tested had Sensory Processing Disorder? Could it be that in people with SPD, this process of unconscious recognition doesn’t happen? Given the immediate “fight or flight” reaction to stimuli experienced by those with SPD, one wonders if this could be the case. Something could be going wrong in the the brain’s ability to locate the stimuli.
Something to ponder.
