THE LIMIT OF TACTILE SPATIAL-RESOLUTION IN HUMANS - GRATING ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION AT THE LIP, TONGUE, AND FINGER
THE LIMIT OF TACTILE SPATIAL-RESOLUTION IN HUMANS - GRATING ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION AT THE LIP, TONGUE, AND FINGER
复制标题
DOI：
10.1212/wnl.44.12.2361
复制
发表时间：
1994-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
9.9
通讯作者：
JOHNSON, KO
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
VANBOVEN, RW;JOHNSON, KO
唇、舌和手指的感觉神经通路专门用于空间信息处理;因此，这些通路的损伤可能最突出地表现为空间敏锐度的丧失。因此，准确测量这些区域的空间分辨率尤为重要。传统的测试，两点辨别任务，不测量空间分辨率的限制，它会产生变量的结果，因为它不控制非空间线索。本研究的目的是量化的限制，在嘴唇，舌头和手指的空间分辨率，并研究这些测量的可重复性使用的刺激，不引入非空间线索。我们采用了光栅方向歧视测试，这已被广泛研究的基础神经机制。我们获得了心理物理阈值触觉空间分辨率从15个正常的，年轻的成年受试者超过7个测试会话。最精细的光栅，其方向被可靠地辨别，其凹槽宽度（光栅具有相等的凹槽和条宽度）在嘴唇处平均为0.51 mm，在舌头处平均为0.58 mm，在手指处平均为0.94 mm。这些阈值测量在会话之间具有高度可重复性，每次会话的总体改善为2%。这些数据表明，光栅方向歧视任务提供了一个稳定的，可靠的测量人类的空间分辨率的能力。
The sensory neural pathways serving the lip, tongue, and finger are specialized for spatial information processing; thus, damage to these pathways is likely to be manifested most prominently as a loss of spatial acuity. For that reason, accurate measurement of spatial resolution at these regions is particularly important. The conventional test, the two-point discrimination task, does not measure the limit of spatial resolution and it yields variable results because it does not control nonspatial cues. The aim of this study was to quantify the limits of spatial resolution at the lip, tongue, and finger and to study the repeatability of those measurements using a stimulus that does not introduce nonspatial cues. We employed a grating orientation discrimination test, which has been studied extensively in relation to the underlying neural mechanisms. We obtained psychophysical thresholds for tactile spatial resolution from 15 normal, young adult subjects over seven test sessions. The finest gratings whose orientations were discriminated reliably had groove widths (gratings had equal groove and bar widths) that averaged 0.51 mm at the lip, 0.58 mm at the tongue, and 0.94 mm at the finger. These threshold measurements were highly reproducible between sessions with an overall improvement of 2% per session. These data suggest that the grating orientation discrimination task provides a stable, reliable measure of the human capacity for spatial resolution.