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The brain can sometimes trick itself into feeling like it has an extra appendage or that the body extends farther into space than it actually does. This can happen when signals in the brain get crossed due to a mix of visual and tactile cues in the environment. This phenomenon has been the subject of several studies. Now, a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance goes a step beyond making the brain think it has an extra part to testing if this also reshapes the perception of the body's capabilities.

Earlier experiments showed that changing a hand's apparent size or adding a physical extension can alter perceived action limits. Some experiments demonstrated that a person watching one hand get touched through a mirror can create the illusion of an extra finger with its own size, shape or orientation in the other hand. One experiment even caused people to feel as if a sixth finger stuck out of their hand 180 degrees away from the palm.

The team involved in the new study built upon this sixth-finger illusion in another study where they modified the way the hand was touched. In their experiment, the participant watches the reflection of their right hand in a mirror while their left hand is hidden on the other side of the mirror.

The experimenter then strokes the fingers of both hands back and forth at the same time.

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