Extended physiological proprioception (EPP) is a concept pioneered by D.C. Simpson (1972) to describe the ability to perceive at the tip of a tool.
Proprioception
Proprioception ( ) is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.
Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, a type of sensory receptor, located within muscles, tendons, and joints. Most animals possess multiple subtypes of propri ...
is the concept is that proprioceptors in the muscles and joints, couple with cutaneous receptors to identify and manage contacts between the body and the world. Extended
physiological
Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
proprioception
Proprioception ( ) is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.
Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, a type of sensory receptor, located within muscles, tendons, and joints. Most animals possess multiple subtypes of propri ...
allows for this same process to apply to contacts between a tool that is being held and the world. The work was based on prostheses developed at the time in response to disabilities incurred by infants as the result of use of the drug
thalidomide
Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is an oral administered medication used to treat a number of cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and many skin disorders (e.g., complication ...
by mothers from 1957 to 1962, with the tool in this case simply being the prosthesis itself. How a person identifies with themself changes after a
lower limb amputation affects body image, functioning, awareness, and future projections.
People with amputations have reported
phantom limbs. This serves as evidence that the brain is hard-wired to perceive body image, making it notable that sensory input and proprioceptive feedback are not essential in its formation. Losing an anatomical part through amputation sets a person up for complex perceptual, emotional, and psychological responses. Such responses include phantom limb pain, which is the painful feeling some amputees incur after amputation in the area lost. Phantom limb pain permits a natural acceptance and use of prosthetic limbs.
See also
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The Extended Mind
In philosophy of mind, the extended mind thesis says that the mind does not exclusively reside in the brain or even the body, but extends into the physical world. The thesis proposes that some objects in the external environment can be part of a ...
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Embodied cognition
Embodied cognition represents a diverse group of theories which investigate how cognition is shaped by the bodily state and capacities of the organism. These embodied factors include the motor system, the perceptual system, bodily interactions wi ...
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Situated cognition
Situated cognition is a theory that posits that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts.
Situativity theorists suggest a model of knowledge and learnin ...
Further reading
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References
Prosthetics
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