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Defensive peripersonal space (DPPS) can be defined as the area around oneself that, when broached by a person or object, self-protective behavior begins. It can be mapped by the magnitude of the hand-blink reflex (HBR), an eye blink that occurs when a mild electrical shock is applied to the wrist of a hand that is sufficiently close to the face. In a U.K. study involving 15 healthy men and women (mean age, 27), investigators measured HBRs with the hand 60 cm, 40 cm, 20 cm, and 4 cm) from the face.
DPPS had a clear boundary, but its distance varied among subjects. Although 60% of participants had a large DPPS that began at 20 cm from the face, compared with 40 cm, and again at 4 cm, compared with 20 cm, the remainder had a small DPPS that bec…