The effect of manipulability and religion on the multisensory integration of objects in peripersonal space

In this study participants were required to respond to vibrotactile stimuli applied to the hand while ignoring visual distractors superimposed on pictures representing Christian, Hindu, or profane objects that were categorized as manipulable or non-manipulable. Overall, participants responded slower when the visual distractor appeared at an incongruent location with respect to the vibrotactile stimulus, which is known as the crossmodal congruency effect (i.e., CCE). The CCE was modulated by the type of object involved (i.e., Christian, Hindu, or Profane), the object manipulability (i.e., manipulable vs. non-manipulable) and the religious background of the participant (i.e., Christian, Hindu, or non-religious). The finding that both object manipulability, the religious significance of the object, and the religious background of the participant have a combined effect on multisensory integration suggests important interactions between low-level body-object integration and the symbolic extension of the self.