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Surface Microgeometry: Tactile Perception and Neural Encoding

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Abstract

When there is tangential relative motion between the fingerpad and the surface of an object, the presence of microscopic irregularities such as a scratch or fine texture can be readily perceived through the tactile sense. The following experiments were designed to determine the smallest surface features that humans can detect, and the peripheral neural events contributing to this detection. Another objective was to determine the importance of these events for the detection of the relative tangential motion (slip) of the object over the skin which could occur, for example, when an object such as a plate of glass is held between two fingers.

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References

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© 1991 Macmillan Publishers Limited

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LaMotte, R.H., Srinivasan, M.A. (1991). Surface Microgeometry: Tactile Perception and Neural Encoding. In: Franzén, O., Westman, J. (eds) Information Processing in the Somatosensory System. Wenner-Gren Center International Symposium Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11597-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11597-6_4

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-11599-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-11597-6

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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