Spatial limits on referred touch to an alien limb may reflect boundaries of visuo-tactile peripersonal space surrounding the hand

In this study, the spatial limits of referred touch to a rubber hand were investigated. Participants rated the strength of the perceived illusion when the rubber hand was placed in one of six different spatial positions (at a distance of 17.5–67.5 cm horizontal from the participant’s own hand). The results revealed a significant nonlinear relationship in the strength of the illusion, with the strongest ratings given when the two hands were closest; decaying significantly after a distance of 30 cm. The time taken to elicit the illusion followed a similar trend. These results may reflect the response properties of bimodal visuo-tactile cells encoding peripersonal space around the hand.