ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on the peripersonal space (PPS) as defined in the cognitive neuroscience tradition and explore different conceptions of PPS. They examine the idea of PPS as related to the defense of the body against threat, as a space for goal-directed action, and as a space for social interaction. The authors describe studies on the defensive aspect of PPS in monkeys, some of the paradigms used in human studies, and the predictive mechanisms at the basis of the defensive PPS investigated in both humans and monkeys. The PPS is a safety zone around our body that subserves a defensive function. Despite the great number of studies investigating the PPS few attempts have been made to systematically organize them within a model. Interestingly, the plasticity of PPS seems to be symmetrical, and indeed PPS can both expand and contract. A. Serino and colleagues investigated the neural basis of PPS by applying low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.
