Effectiveness of a tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback to improve ankle force sense following plantar-flexor muscles fatigue

Vuillerme, Nicolas; Boisgontier, Matthieu P.

doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2009.07.124

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In fact, multiple groups are working to develop and test tongue stimulation devices to help people with a variety of sensory disorders. These include Kaczmarek (2011) who developed The Tongue Display Unit, multiple groups investigating vestibular substitution and biofeedback, and Danilov and Tyler (2005) who developed the BrainPort® (Tyler et al, 2003; Vuillerme and Boisgontier, 2009; Barros et al, 2010; Wildenberg et al, 2013). These devices have been used in multiple studies including vision and balance substitution, neuroplasticity applications and augmentation of sensory information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Intensity and Discrimination Ability for Lingual Electrotactile Stimulation Depends on Location and Orientation of Electrodes

Moritz

Turk

Williams

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Malfunctioning sensory systems can severely impact quality of life and repair is not always possible. One solution, called sensory substitution, is to use another sensory system to bring lost information to the brain. This approach often involves the use of bioengineered devices that electrically stimulate somatosensory fibers. Interestingly, the tongue is an ideal location for electrotactile stimulation due to its dense innervation, moisture, and protected environment. Success with transmitting visual and vestibular information through the tongue indicates promise for future applications. However, sensitivity and discrimination ability varies between individuals and across the tongue surface complicating efforts to produce reliable and consistent sensations. The goals of the present study were to investigate these differences more precisely to better understand the mechanosensory innervation of the tongue so that future electrotactile devices can be designed more effectively. Specifically, we tested whether stimulation of certain regions of the tongue consistently result in better perception, whether the spacing of stimulating electrodes affects perceived intensity, and whether the orientation of electrodes affects perceived intensity and discrimination. To test these hypotheses, we built a custom tongue stimulation device, recruited 25 participants, and collected perceived intensity and discrimination data. We then subjected the data to thorough statistical analyses. Consistent with previous studies, we found that stimulation of the anterior medial tongue region was perceived as more intense than stimulation of lateral and posterior regions. This region also had the best discrimination ability for electrodes. Dividing the stimulated tongue area into 16 distinct regions allowed us to compare perception ability between anterior and posterior regions, medial and lateral regions, and the left and right sides of the tongue. Stimulation of the most anterior and medial tongue resulted in the highest perceived intensity and the best discrimination ability. Most individuals were able to perceive and discriminate electrotactile stimulation better on one side of the tongue, and orientation of stimulating electrodes affected perception. In conclusion, the present studies reveal new information about the somatosensory innervation of the tongue and will assist the design of future electrotactile tongue stimulation devices that will help provide sensory information to people with damaged sensory systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Intensity and Discrimination Ability for Lingual Electrotactile Stimulation Depends on Location and Orientation of Electrodes

Moritz

Turk

Williams

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Regarding skill practice, evidence for functional task training is generally positive in individuals with neurologic deficits, including those with stroke and cerebral palsy. Because these neuromodulatory devices are relatively new and no studies have identified their long-term effects, 16,29,30 longitudinal studies should be undertaken to monitor the long-term therapeutic benefits of using these devices. The Brainport device may have served to augment information for postural orientation, and the CN-NINM device may have increased the neural receptivity or connectivity to support learning and neuroplastic change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Motor Skill of Children With Posterior Fossa Syndrome

Harbourne

Becker

Arpin

et al. 2014

Pediatric Physical Therapy

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Children who receive treatment for medulloblastoma have a high survival rate, but also a high likelihood of developing posterior fossa syndrome, a condition that includes devastating balance and motor problems. This case series used 2 novel neuromodulation devices in conjunction with an intensive physical therapy intervention for 2 children who were 5 years post tumor treatment with a diagnosis of posterior fossa syndrome. Pre- and postclinical measures, in addition to magnetoencephalography brain imaging, describe positive behavioral and neuroplastic changes resulting from the intervention. The positive outcomes in these cases suggest that further study is needed using neuromodulatory devices and long-term rehabilitation in children with balance and movement disorders resulting from cancer treatment.

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“…The tongue also has a lower intensity threshold to ETS relative to the fingertips and can be effectively stimulated with low voltage signals [29]. Several groups have developed successful SSDs involving ETS of the tongue and studies indicate user benefits for people with vestibular impairments [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]. In addition to vestibular biofeedback, other lingual SSD biofeedback applications include attempts to improve white cane navigation for visually impaired individuals by providing obstacle distance information [47].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lingual electrotactile discrimination ability is associated with the presence of specific connective tissue structures (papillae) on the tongue surface

et al. 2020

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Electrical stimulation of nerve endings in the tongue can be used to communicate information to users and has been shown to be highly effective in sensory substitution applications. The anterior tip of the tongue has very small somatosensory receptive fields, comparable to those of the finger tips, allowing for precise two-point discrimination and high tactile sensitivity. However, perception of electrotactile stimuli varies significantly between users, and across the tongue surface. Despite this, previous studies all used uniform electrode grids to stimulate a region of the dorsal-medial tongue surface. In an effort to customize electrode layouts for individual users, and thus improve efficacy for sensory substitution applications, we investigated whether specific neuroanatomical and physiological features of the tongue are associated with enhanced ability to perceive active electrodes. Specifically, the study described here was designed to test whether fungiform papillae density and/or propylthiouracil sensitivity are positively or negatively associated with perceived intensity and/or discrimination ability for lingual electrotactile stimuli. Fungiform papillae number and distribution were determined for 15 participants and they were exposed to patterns of electrotactile stimulation (ETS) and asked to report perceived intensity and perceived number of stimuli. Fungiform papillae number and distribution were then compared to ETS characteristics using comprehensive and rigorous statistical analyses. Our results indicate that fungiform papillae density is correlated with enhanced discrimination ability for electrical stimuli. In contrast, papillae density, on average, is not correlated with perceived intensity of active electrodes. However, results for at least one participant suggest that further research is warranted. Our data indicate that propylthiouracil taster status is not related to ETS perceived intensity or discrimination ability. These data indicate that individuals with higher fungiform papillae number and density in the anterior medial tongue region may be better able to use lingual ETS for sensory substitution.

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Effectiveness of a tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback to improve ankle force sense following plantar-flexor muscles fatigue

Cited by 16 publications

References 17 publications

Perceived Intensity and Discrimination Ability for Lingual Electrotactile Stimulation Depends on Location and Orientation of Electrodes

Perceived Intensity and Discrimination Ability for Lingual Electrotactile Stimulation Depends on Location and Orientation of Electrodes

Improving the Motor Skill of Children With Posterior Fossa Syndrome

Lingual electrotactile discrimination ability is associated with the presence of specific connective tissue structures (papillae) on the tongue surface

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