Peripheral vs. central determinants of vibrotactile adaptation
(2016) Journal of Neurophysiology — Vol. 115, n° 2, p. 685-691 (2016)
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- Abstract
- Long lasting mechanical vibrations applied to the skin induce a reversible decrease in the perception of vibration at the stimulated skin site. This phenomenon of vibrotactile adaptation has been studied extensively. Yet, there is still no clear consensus on the mechanisms leading to vibrotactile adaptation. In particular, the respective contribution of (i) changes affecting mechanical skin impedance, (ii) peripheral processes, and (iii) central processes is largely unknown. Here, we used direct electrical stimulation of nerve fibers to bypass mechanical transduction processes and, thereby, explore the possible contribution of central vs. peripheral processes to vibrotactile adaptation. Three experiments were conducted. In the first, adaptation was induced using mechanical vibration of the fingertip (51 or 251 Hz vibration delivered for 8 minutes, at 40x the detection threshold). In the second, we attempted to induce adaptation using transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the median nerve (51 or 251 Hz constant-current pulses delivered for 8 minutes, at 1.5x the detection threshold). Vibrotactile detection thresholds were measured before and after adaptation. Mechanical stimulation induced a clear increase of vibrotactile detection thresholds. In contrast, thresholds were unaffected by electrical stimulation. In the third experiment, we assessed the effect of mechanical adaptation on the detection thresholds to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimuli, measured before and after adaptation. Electrical detection thresholds were unaffected by the mechanical adaptation. Taken together, our results suggest that vibrotactile adaptation is predominantly the consequence of peripheral mechanoreceptor processes and/or changes in biomechanical properties of the skin.
- Affiliations
Louvain Bionics Center of Interdisciplinary Expertise
Citations
Klöcker, A., Gueorguiev, D., Thonnard, J.-L., & Mouraux, A. (2016). Peripheral vs. central determinants of vibrotactile adaptation. Journal of Neurophysiology, 115(2), 685-691. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00519.2015 (Original work published 2016)