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When a wasp flies toward us, we react within a split second: we raise our hand, dodge out of the way, and in doing so perceive touch generated by our own movements. In her project, Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan investigates how the body perceives such self-generated touch and how this information helps us evaluate and respond to threats. Dr. Arikan conducts her research at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Duisburg-Essen and works at the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Essen. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is supporting her project with around EUR 411,000 over 36 months. The project is scheduled to begin in January 2027.
The insights gained from Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan’s research may extend far beyond basic research. “The results could inspire new approaches to treating anxiety disorders and phobias. They also help us better understand how the body and brain process threats, with potential applications in therapy, virtual reality, and robotics,” says the psychologist.
The cognitive neuroscientist focuses her research on the interplay between touch and vision. The skin conveys information about bodily states, while the eyes provide information about the external environment. Together, these senses enable fast and appropriate responses. “We want to understand how perception and action interact in threatening situations,” says Dr. Arikan.
Her project, titled “Feeling the danger: the role of action-induced touch in responding to threat,” addresses a key gap in the literature: previous studies have focused either on the perception of threats or on responses to them. The psychologist combines both. She examines how touch arises when people respond to threats, and what processes occur in the body. She investigates subjective experience, measures brain activity, and records signals from individual nerve fibers. In this way, she aims to build a comprehensive picture of the underlying processes.
The researcher collaborates with experts from various fields, including Prof. Dr. Ulrike Bingel from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dr. Katja Fiehler from the Justus Liebig University Giessen, and Prof. Rochelle Ackerley, from the CNRS Aix-Marseille University. Together, they integrate expertise in brain processes, perception, and bodily responses, using a multimodal approach to understand these mechanisms.
Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, ezgi.arikan@uk-essen.de, Tel. 0201/723-2730
Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen
Quelle: Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan
Copyright: Dr. Belkis Ezgi Arikan
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