Touch is one of the most critical senses, as it provides information about the state of our own body and of the external world. For instance, tactile input from different surfaces influences how humans interact with these surfaces. Meanwhile, tactile sampling and processing is also influenced by our movements. In the real world, touch can be directed to different textures, surfaces and objects, with different goals in mind (from contacting a texture to exploring a surface to changing an object’s position). The proposed symposium will discuss recent findings on the interplay between touch and movement in naturalistic settings. More specifically, we will address how tactile processing is
modulated by various tactile inputs, during motion, and under different tasks. Dione Mariama will talk about how humans explore natural textures and how mechanoreceptive afferents transform physical inputs into the perception of touch. Luigi Tamè will present evidence that distortions in the perceived distances between tactile stimuli on the hand can also be observed in early somatosensory and motor areas. Focusing on natural object manipulation, Benoit Delhaye will then address how tactile interactions between fingertips and objects provide grasp stability. Alessandro Moscatelli will talk about everyday interactions between hand movements and touch, and how optimal integration
models can predict tactile illusions of motion. Finally, Ezgi Arikan will discuss the role of approach-avoidance goals on tactile sensitivity when moving towards and away from objects in a virtual reality environment.