Document Detail


Spatial cues serving the tactile directional sensibility of the human forearm.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  7965863     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
1. Tactile directional sensibility is considered to rely on the parallel processing of direction-contingent sensory data that depend on skin stretching caused by friction, and spatial cues that vary with time. A temperature-controlled airstream stimulus that prevented the activation of stretch receptors was used to investigate directional sensibility for the skin of the forearm. 2. The dependence on contact load and distance of movement was determined for normal subjects with a two-alternative forced-choice method. Testing was performed under two conditions, elbow bent or straight. Bracing the skin by straightening the arm did not alter the accuracy of the directional sensibility, in contrast to previous findings with stimuli that caused friction. 3. The accuracy of directional sensibility was correlated linearly to the logarithm of the distance of movement of the air jet. No correlation was found between accuracy and contact load, unlike findings with stimuli that cause friction. 4. Measurements were made with different subjects to determine the threshold distance at constant load. On average, subjects were able to distinguish direction with movements of < or = 8 mm. This acuity is sharper than has been reported with static stimuli. There was no correlation between subjects' threshold distances for judging direction and spatial acuity measured with absolute point localization. 5. The ability to distinguish direction was poor for the airstream stimulus compared with stimuli causing frictional contact with hairy skin. Nevertheless, the present findings are consistent with the suggestion that cutaneous spatial acuity is better for dynamic than for static stimuli.
Authors:
U Norrsell; H Olausson
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Journal of physiology     Volume:  478 Pt 3     ISSN:  0022-3751     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Physiol. (Lond.)     Publication Date:  1994 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1994-12-28     Completed Date:  1994-12-28     Revised Date:  2009-11-18    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0266262     Medline TA:  J Physiol     Country:  ENGLAND    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  533-40     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Cues*
Female
Forearm / physiology*
Hair / physiology
Humans
Male
Mechanoreceptors / physiology
Middle Aged
Motion Perception / physiology
Orientation / physiology*
Sensory Thresholds / physiology
Skin / innervation
Skin Physiological Phenomena
Space Perception / physiology*
Touch / physiology*
Comments/Corrections

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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