This investigation determined if subthreshold two-point aesthesiometer separations could be discriminated from one-point on the dorsal forearm. A fixed-based matching signal-detection technique was employed. The results indicated that subjects can reliably discriminate two-point separations as small as 2 mm when compared to one point.

This investigation determined if subthreshold two-point aesthesiometer separations could be discriminated from one-point on the back, using a fixed-based matching signal detection technique. Subjects reliably discriminated two-point separations as small as 2 mm from one point on the back. In addition, the back appears to be more sensitive to discriminating two points from one point than the dorsal forearm.

This study extended the two-point esthesiometer separations used previously in studies of the ability to discriminate two-points from one-point on the dorsal forearm. A yes-no signal detection (TSD) technique was employed. Analysis indicated that subjects reliably discriminate two-points from one-point on the dorsal forearm, and they show a steady increase in sensitivity from 16- to 40-mm two-point signals. In addition, the yes-no TSD approach appears to yield results similar to the fixed-base matching-TSD technique when measuring two-point tactual discrimination.