Abstract: Body perceptions are important for people’s motor, social and emotional functioning. Critically, current neuroscientific research has shown that body perceptions are not fixed, but are continuously updated through sensorimotor information. In this talk I will present work from our group on how sound and other sensory feedback on one’s body and actions can be used to alter body perception, creating Body Transformation Experiences. I will talk about how neuroscientifically grounded insights that body perceptions are continuously updated through sensorimotor information may contribute to the design of novel body-centred technologies to support people’s needs and for behaviour change. I will then present various studies from our current project, Magic OutFit, aimed to inform the design of wearable technology in which sensory-driven changes in body perception are used to enhance behavioral patterns and emotional state in the context of exertion. I will discuss how apart from the focus on real-life applications, novel technologies for body sensing and sensory feedback may also become a research tool for investigating how emotional and multisensory processes shape body perception. I will conclude by identifying new challenges and opportunities that this line of work presents, some of which we are addressing in our recently started ERC project BODYinTRANSIT.

Bio: Ana Tajadura-Jiménez is an Associate Professor at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Honorary Research associate at the University College London Interaction Centre (UCLIC). She leads the i_mBODY lab, in which research focuses on understanding how sensory-based interaction technologies could be used to alter people’s perceptions of their own body, their emotional state and their motor behaviour patterns. This research is empirical and multidisciplinary, combining perspectives of psychoacoustics, neuroscience and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). She is currently Principal Investigator of the AEI-funded Magic OutFit project, which aims to inform the design of technology to make people feel better about their bodies and sustain healthy lifestyles. She has recently been awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council to conduct research for the next 5 years. Prior to this she obtained a PhD in Applied Acoustics at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). She was a post-doctoral researcher in the Lab of Action and Body at Royal Holloway, University of London, an ESRC Future Research Leader and Principal Investigator of The Hearing Body project at University College London Interaction Centre (UCLIC) and a Ramón y Cajal fellow at Universidad Loyola Andalucía. Her work has led her to receive the 2021 Award from Fundación Banco Sabadell to Science and Engineering.

Fecha y Hora: viernes 13 de enero, 12.30 horas

Lugar: Seminario 4