Xavier Job, Silvia Chiesa, Laura Buck, Julia Mayas Arellano & José van Velzen

Behavioural and electrophysiological evidence has demonstrated that preparation of goal-directed actions modulates sensory processing at the goal location before the action is executed. The present study investigated tactile sensory processing during planned body-directed movements. A motor task cued the preparation of reaching movements toward a goal on the upper body or away from the body. Somatosensory evoked-potentials were recorded in response to task-irrelevant tactile stimuli delivered randomly at the central goal location on the body, or at adjacent lateral locations. Early stimulus-evoked activity was enhanced during movement preparation towards, compared to away from, the stimulated location. This enhancement of tactile processing was attenuated at lateral sites, particularly when the action space was occluded from vision. The results suggest that planned body-directed movements are accompanied by a topography of modulated sensory processing across the body which is more constrained around the goal of the movement when visual access of the action space is denied.