Tirrell Emily M, Kalantaryardebily Nahid, Feldbush Anna C, Sydnor Lindsey, Grubb Christopher, Parcetich Kevin, Gurari Netta
Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Program, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA.
Exp Brain Res. 2025 Mar 15;243(4):92. doi: 10.1007/s00221-025-07044-5.
Intact tactile perception is essential to successfully interact with objects. While tactile examinations exist for capturing tactile impairments, recent investigations underscore that these examinations remain insufficient, particularly for adults following a neurological injury. To inform the design of improved tactile assessments, this study comprehensively captures factors that can influence tactile perception in young and older adults who are neurologically intact.
We examined the impact of arm dominance (dominant/non-dominant), nerve (median/ulnar/radial), location (hand/elbow), and sex (male/female) on thresholds at which electrotactile stimuli could be consciously detected when applied to the skin in 20 young and 14 older right-arm dominant participants.
Significant differences depending on arm dominance were not found in young (p = 0.6781) or older (p = 0.2786) adults. Yet, the nerve tested did yield differing thresholds in young (p < 0.0001) and older (p < 0.0001) adults. In young adults, thresholds were less at the hand than elbow (p = 0.0031). In older adults, the average threshold was greater at the hand than elbow. Importantly, in older adults the threshold at the hand increased with age to a greater extent than at the elbow (p < 0.0001). Thresholds were greater in males than females in young adults (p = 0.0004), whereas no significant sex differences were observed in older adults (p = 0.2560).
This work highlights the importance of addressing numerous factors and their interactions when assessing tactile perception (e.g., arm dominance, nerve, location, sex, age). Findings can inform the design of improved tactile assessments that more accurately capture why impairments arise, including following a neurological injury.
完整的触觉感知对于与物体成功互动至关重要。虽然存在用于捕捉触觉障碍的触觉检查，但最近的研究强调这些检查仍然不够充分，特别是对于神经损伤后的成年人。为了为改进触觉评估的设计提供信息，本研究全面捕捉了可能影响神经功能正常的年轻人和老年人触觉感知的因素。
我们在20名年轻和14名年长的右利手参与者中，研究了手臂优势（优势/非优势）、神经（正中神经/尺神经/桡神经）、位置（手部/肘部）和性别（男性/女性）对将电触觉刺激施加于皮肤时可被有意识检测到的阈值的影响。
在年轻人（p = 0.6781）或年长者（p = 0.2786）中，未发现因手臂优势而产生的显著差异。然而，所测试的神经在年轻人（p < 0.0001）和年长者（p < 0.0001）中确实产生了不同的阈值。在年轻人中，手部的阈值低于肘部（p = 0.0031）。在年长者中，手部的平均阈值高于肘部。重要的是，在年长者中，手部的阈值随年龄增长的幅度比肘部更大（p < 0.0001）。在年轻人中，男性的阈值高于女性（p = 0.0004），而在年长者中未观察到显著的性别差异（p = 0.2560）。
这项工作强调了在评估触觉感知时考虑众多因素及其相互作用的重要性（例如，手臂优势、神经、位置、性别、年龄）。研究结果可为改进触觉评估的设计提供信息，从而更准确地捕捉损伤产生的原因，包括神经损伤后。
