Document Detail


The influence of spatial summation on human tactile directional sensibility.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  7778407     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Spatial summation is known to influence the magnitude of sensation for stationary cutaneous stimuli. Yet analysis of moving stimuli may also be pertinent, since most stimuli that attract our attention involve movements over the skin surface. The present investigation dealt with the importance of spatial summation for the appreciation of the direction of motion for moving stimuli. The ability to detect the direction of motion was tested on the radial surface of the forearm with the two-alternative forced-choice method. Stimulation was performed with a rolling wheel, in order to exclude friction-generated activation of stretch receptors. Each subject was tested with two wheels with the same radius but different widths, 1 mm and 15 mm. On average, the subjects performed better with the wide wheel than with the narrow one for stimulation distances > or = 16 mm. This value also probably exceeds the threshold distance for directional discrimination for the narrow wheel, which indicates that spatial summation improves suprathreshold performance.
Authors:
H Olausson
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Somatosensory & motor research     Volume:  11     ISSN:  0899-0220     ISO Abbreviation:  Somatosens Mot Res     Publication Date:  1994  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1995-07-07     Completed Date:  1995-07-07     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8904127     Medline TA:  Somatosens Mot Res     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  305-10     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Afferent Pathways / physiology
Attention / physiology*
Female
Forearm / innervation
Humans
Male
Mechanoreceptors / physiology*
Membrane Potentials / physiology
Orientation / physiology*
Peripheral Nerves / physiology
Sensory Thresholds / physiology
Skin / innervation
Synaptic Transmission / physiology*
Touch / physiology*

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


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