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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 "People move their hands as if their arms were longer," Cardinali said. And when asked to point to their elbow and middle fingertip, the two points they indicated were further apart after using the tool.
The study proves for the first time that people extend their representation of themselves when using tools, Cardinali said.
Of course, people don't notice that they're continually creating an idea of where they are in relation to space and things. That makes sense, Cardinali said, because the brain doesn't have the resources to make someone aware of the entire body's place in space when the person wants to move.
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But the schema system is still in place, she said, meaning that "you don't need to pay attention to your feet at every step or visually look in the mirror and visually control your movements while you brush your teeth."
Understanding more about the human body's schema could lead to better understanding of such diseases as anorexia, in which people think they're heavy when they're not, said Sanberg, the Florida neurosurgeon.
"How they perceive their body may not be exactly what is in the real world," he said. How we position ourselves in space could play a role.
More information
The Lundbeck Institute has more about the brain.
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