Temporal resolution of successive brief stimuli for the tongue and hand

Abstract

The temporal resolving power of the tactile sensory system was examined by obtaining fusion thresholds for a two-pulse vibratory stimulus. Fusion thresholds were obtained from the tongue and thenar eminence of the hand for 24 adult subjects. The means of the fusion thresholds for the tongue (24.63 msec) for the thenar eminence (24.73 msec) were found to be statistically similar. The similarity in fusion thresholds for the two test sites suggests that for this suprathreshold task the tactile modality responds as a whole, regardless of body location. Results are discussed with respect to cutaneous fusion values already reported in the literature.

The influence of rhythm on detection of auditory and vibrotactile asynchrony

“…Asynchrony detection tasks have been carried out with somatosensory input, using a variety of stimuli including vibrotactile stimulation (Petrosino and Fucci 1984), mechanical taps (Gescheider 1966), and electrocutaneous shock (Uttal 1959;Rosner 1961). The locus of stimulation has varied considerably across studies, with common sites being fingertips (Elliott et al 2010;Huang et al 2012), tongue, and thenar eminence (Petrosino and Fucci 1984). Substantial variability in asynchrony detection thresholds has been found in tactile studies, possibly attributable to the variation in stimuli type and the location of stimulation.…”