Comparison of Lingual Vibrotactile Suprathreshold Numerical Responses in Men and Women: Effects of Threshold Shift during Magnitude-Estimation Scaling

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in tactile sensory system function between men and women. This task was accomplished by studying the effects of possible tactile threshold shifts occurring during magnitude-estimation scaling of vibratory stimuli presented to the dorsal surface of the tongue. 12 men (M age = 19.7 yr.) and 12 women (M age = 19.3 yr.) participated. Analysis suggested that men and women have tactile sensory systems that operate similarly at both threshold and suprathreshold levels of stimulation. Men and women do, however, choose to use consistently different numerical responses to suprathreshold stimuli, suggesting that environmental and/or cultural-educational influences may be involved in numerical decision-making aspects of the scaling process.

Labeled magnitude scales for oral sensations of wetness, dryness, pleasantness and unpleasantness

“…Furthermore, although gender-related differences have been found in the scaling of some percepts, such as thermal stimulation (Harju, 2002;Lautenbacher & Rollman, 1993), lingual vibrotactile stimulation (Fucci, Petrosino, Schuster, & Wagner, 1990) and the perception of annoyance from short samples of music (Fucci, Petrosino, Hallowell, Andra, & Wilcox, 1997), we found no evidence for gender-related differences in the rating of semantic labels describing the intensity of oral wetness, dryness, pleasantness or unpleasantness.…”

Oral mucosal versus cutaneous sensory testing: a review of the literature

“…Intra‐orally only the lower lip (Calhoun et al ., 1992; Barlow, 1995) and the dorsum of the tongue (Kelly, 1977; Fucci et al ., 1990) have been tested for vibrotactile function (see Table 4). While it has been proven that different mechanoreceptors respond to different vibration frequencies in the skin this relationship is still unclear for the oral mucosa.…”

“…While it has been proven that different mechanoreceptors respond to different vibration frequencies in the skin this relationship is still unclear for the oral mucosa. The vibration thresholds should not be tested for one frequency (Dyck et al ., 1978, 1990, 1992, 1993b; Bertelsmann et al ., 1986; Halonen, 1986; Fucci et al ., 1990; Merchut & Toleikis, 1990b; Calhoun et al ., 1992; Heijenbrok et al ., 1992; Braune & Schady, 1993; De Neeling et al ., 1994; Thibault, Forget & Lambert, 1994; Kauppila et al ., 1998). The ideal device to test vibrotactile function should include a wide range of frequencies to distinguish between the different receptor groups activated by specific frequency ranges (for example: from 7 to 500 Hz) and take into account the pre‐load of the sensory test (Lundborg et al ., 1986, 1987, 1992; Brammer, Piercy & Auger, 1987; Aaserud, Juntunen & Matikainen, 1990; Grunert et al ., 1990; Harada & Griffin, 1991; Lundström, Strömberg & Lundborg, 1992; Maeda & Griffin, 1994; Barlow, 1995; Jacobs et al ., 1998b).…”

Effects of stimulus duration and stimulus intensity level on recovery times for lingual vibrotactile threshold shift

“…Particularly, increased thresholds have been documented during lingual vibrotactile magnitudeestimation scaling tasks, with the amount of threshold shift being directly related to the intensity of the suprathreshold stimulus applied to the tongue (Fucci, Petrosino, Harris, Randolph-Tyler, & Wagner, 1989;Fucci, Petrosino, Schuster, & Randolph, 1991;Fucci, Petrosino, Schuster, & Wagner, 1990;. This phenomenon occurs in normal subjects independent of gender or age (Fucci et a\., 1991) .…”