Conferencia Ana Tajadura (Universidad de Loyola Andalucía, Sevilla, España): “The Hearing Body: Estimulación sonora para alterar la percepción del cuerpo, las emociones y la conducta motora”.

Abstract: Through our senses we receive information that leads to form mental representations of our own body and the space and events around it. These mental representations impact on emotional, social, and motor functioning. Crucially, recent neuroscientific breakthroughs have shown that these mental representations are not fixed and that people can experience having a different body and being in a different environment through the use of specially designed sensory feedback. At the intersection between the fields of neuroscience and human-computer interaction (HCI) the Hearing Body project investigates the use of sound and other sensory feedback to change people´s experiences of their body and the surrounding space, as well as its impact on emotion and action patterns. Using interactive multimodal tracking and sound-feedback technologies our studies have shown, for instance, that real-time alteration of walking sounds cues related to body weight results in changes in one’s represented body size, and impacts positively in walking behavior and emotional state. The research objectives are being achieved by conducting experimental studies that combine self-report, psychophysical and psychophysiological techniques. In addition, wearable prototypes are being iteratively designed and developed to enable a systematic study of novel applications that enhance people’s mental representations of their own physical appearance and self-efficacy in their everyday lives. The ultimate goal is to make a positive impact on emotional and physical health.

Bio:(atajadura ARROBA uloyola PUNTO es) Ana Tajadura-Jiménez estudió Ingeniería de Telecomunicación en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. A continuación obtuvo los grados de máster (MSc in Digital Communication Systems and Technology) y de doctora en acústica aplicada por la Chalmers University of Technology, en Gotemburgo, Suecia. Ana fue investigadora post-doctoral en el Lab of Action and Body (LAB) del Prof. Manos Tsakiris, en Royal Holloway, University of London. En 2012 se trasladó al University College London Interaction Centre (UCLIC) con una ESRC Future Research Leader fellowship y como investigadora principal del proyecto The Hearing Body. Desde el pasado enero (2016) Ana trabaja como investigadora Ramón y Cajal en la Universidad Loyola Andalucía y como Honorary Research Associate en el University College London. En la Universidad Loyola Andalucía es parte del laboratorio de Neurociencia Humana y coordina la línea de investigación denominada “Estimulación multisensorial para alterar la percepción del cuerpo y el espacio, las emociones y la conducta motora”. La investigación de Ana es empírica y multidisciplinar, combinando perspectivas de psicoacústica, neurociencia y HCI.

Fecha: 8 de septiembre de 2016.