RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Bioscience and Materials, Stockholm, SE-114 28, Sweden.
L'Oréal Research and Innovation, Aulnay-sous-Bois, 93600, France.
Sci Rep. 2018 Apr 19;8(1):5303. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23688-6.
It is known that roughness-smoothness, hardness-softness, stickiness-slipperiness and warm-cold are predominant perceptual dimensions in macro-, micro- and nano- texture perception. However, it is not clear to what extent active tactile texture discrimination remains intact with age. The general decrease in tactile ability induces physical and emotional dysfunction in elderly, and has increasing significance for an aging population. We report a method to quantify tactile acuity based on blinded active exploration of systematically varying micro-textured surfaces and a same-different paradigm. It reveals that elderly participants show significantly reduced fine texture discrimination ability. The elderly group also displays statistically lower finger friction coefficient, moisture and elasticity, suggesting a link. However, a subpopulation of the elderly retains discrimination ability irrespective of cutaneous condition and this can be related to a higher density of somatosensory receptors on the finger pads. Skin tribology is thus not the primary reason for decline of tactile discrimination with age. The remediation of cutaneous properties through rehydration, however leads to a significantly improved tactile acuity. This indicates unambiguously that neurological tactile loss can be temporarily compensated by restoring the cutaneous contact mechanics. Such mechanical restoration of tactile ability has the potential to increase the quality of life in elderly.
众所周知，在宏观、微观和纳米纹理感知中，粗糙-光滑、坚硬-柔软、粘性-滑溜性以及冷-热是主要的感知维度。然而，目前尚不清楚主动触觉纹理辨别能力在多大程度上随着年龄的增长而保持完整。触觉能力的普遍下降会导致老年人身体和情感功能障碍，对老龄化人口的影响越来越大。我们报告了一种基于系统变化的微纹理表面的盲法主动探索和相同-不同范式来量化触觉敏锐度的方法。结果表明，老年参与者在精细纹理辨别能力方面明显下降。老年组的手指摩擦系数、水分和弹性也明显较低，表明存在关联。然而，老年人群中有一部分人无论皮肤状况如何，都保持着辨别能力，这可能与指垫上更高密度的感觉受体有关。因此，皮肤摩擦学并不是触觉辨别随年龄增长而下降的主要原因。通过重新水化来修复皮肤特性，会显著提高触觉敏锐度。这明确表明，通过恢复皮肤接触力学，可以暂时补偿神经触觉丧失。这种触觉能力的机械恢复有可能提高老年人的生活质量。
