Tactile and Sensory Interactions

Developmental plasticity of texture discrimination following early vision loss in the marsupial Monodelphis domestica

This study investigates how early vision loss in opossums affects texture discrimination behavior, showing that early blind animals use tactile inputs more effectively than sighted controls.

Directional biases in whole hand motion perception revealed by mid-air tactile stimulation

This study shows that tactile motion perception of the whole hand exhibits directional biases similar to the visual Oblique Effect, using mid-air ultrasound stimulation.

Perceptual rivalry with vibrotactile stimuli

This study investigates whether perceptual rivalry, observed in visual and auditory modalities, occurs with vibrotactile stimuli.

Two tales of one neural link predict blind individual's Braille reading proficiency

The paper identifies a neural link between the lateral occipital cortex and inferior frontal cortex in late blind individuals and shows it correlates with Braille reading proficiency.

Spatial integration during active tactile sensation drives elementary shape perception

This study investigates how mice use active whisker touch to discriminate surface orientations, showing spatial integration in the barrel cortex is essential for this task.

Constraints on the deformation of the vibrissa within the follicle

The paper develops a mechanical model of the whisker follicle to simulate whisker deformation during passive contact and active whisking, predicting how muscle contraction and blood pressure affect tactile sensitivity.

An elasticity-curvature illusion decouples cutaneous and proprioceptive cues in active exploration of soft objects

Finger representation in the cortex of the congenitally blind

The paper investigates finger representation in the primary somatosensory cortex of congenitally blind individuals using fMRI and psychophysics, finding no increased hand representation but activation of the middle temporal complex during finger movement.

Human first-order tactile neurons can resolve spatial details on the scale of single fingerprint ridges

The paper examines the spatial resolution of FA-1 and SA-1 tactile neurons using raised dots, finding their resolution corresponds to a spatial period of ~0.4 mm.

Smartphone deprivation alters cortical sensorimotor processing of the hand

This study shows that cortical sensorimotor processing of the hand changes after smartphone deprivation, affecting tapping speed, thumb reaction times, and EEG responses.

Probing interoception via thermosensation: No specific relationships across multiple interoceptive sub-modalities

The paper investigates thermosensation across different skin types and interoceptive sub-modalities, finding higher thermosensitivity on hairy skin and no significant relationships between modalities.

NEURAL ENCODING OF FELT AND IMAGINED TOUCH WITHIN HUMAN POSTERIOR PARIETAL CORTEX

This study shows that neurons in the human posterior parietal cortex encode both felt and imagined touch, suggesting a role in semantic processing and sensory anticipation.

Sensory and cognitive factors affecting multi-digit touch: a perceptual and modeling study

The paper investigates how sensory and cognitive factors influence the integration of tactile motion signals across multiple fingerpads, finding that within-hand integration is limited and influenced by perceptual weighting of a leading finger.

Palm-to-finger cortical functional interactions in primary somatosensory cortex: a 7T fMRI study

This study uses 7T fMRI to investigate palm and finger representations in primary somatosensory cortex, finding that functional interactions are better predicted by hand structure than somatotopic organization.

Verbal Labels Facilitate Tactile Texture Discrimination in a Perceptual Learning Task

This study shows that verbal labels improve tactile texture discrimination in a learning task, but grammatical category of the labels does not affect performance.

Mechanoreceptor synapses in the brainstem shape the central representation of touch

The paper shows that mechanoreceptor synapses in the brainstem develop differently based on their proximity to glabrous skin, shaping the central representation of touch.

Touch inhibits touch: sanshool-induced paradoxical tingling reveals perceptual interference between somatosensory submodalities

The paper shows that sustained mechanical pressure inhibits tingling sensations induced by sanshool on the lips, indicating interaction between somatosensory submodalities.

The Effect of Between-Probe Variability in Haptic Feedback on Stiffness Perception and Grip Force Adjustment

This study investigates how between-probe haptic variability affects stiffness perception and grip force adjustment, finding that medium variability induces perceptual uncertainty and alters grip force control.

Different activation signatures in the primary sensorimotor and higher-level regions for haptic three-dimensional curved surface exploration

This study uses fMRI to examine time-dependent brain activity during haptic 3D curve and roughness estimation, finding differential activation patterns in sensorimotor and higher-level regions.

Reconstructing neural representations of tactile space

The paper reconstructs tactile space from fMRI data and finds that primary somatosensory and motor cortices encode tactile space with perceptual distortions.

Somatotopic Arrangement of Eight Distinct Skin Areas in the Human Primary Somatosensory Cortex Derived from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The paper uses fMRI to study somatotopic organization in the human primary somatosensory cortex, finding group-level consistency with the homunculus model but individual variation.

A New Sensory Skill Shows Automaticity and Integration Features in Multisensory Interactions

This study shows that newly learned sensory skills, like human echolocation, can become automatic and integrate with other senses, though with some limitations in integration efficiency.

Scrambling the skin: Simulated skin re-arrangement using apparent motion

The paper tests a hypothesis about sensory map organization by reversing motion sequences on the skin and measuring the resulting perceptual aftereffects.

Somatosensory evoked potentials indexing lateral inhibition are modulated according to the mode of perceptual processing: comparing or combining multi-digit tactile motion

The paper investigates how lateral inhibition in somatosensory processing changes based on whether participants compare or combine tactile stimuli, finding reduced suppression during combination.

USH2A is a Meissner corpuscle end-organ protein necessary for vibration sensing in mice and humans

This study shows that USH2A is essential for vibration sensing in mice and humans by being expressed in Meissner corpuscle end-organs, not in sensory neurons.

Spoken language comprehension activates the primary visual cortex

Sighted participants show left-lateralized, focal V1 activation for comprehensible speech versus reversed speech, independent of word concreteness or attention to word onsets.

An automated homecage system for multiwhisker detection and discrimination learning in mice

This paper describes an automated homecage system for training mice in multiwhisker discrimination learning using air current stimulation and water reward, showing rapid learning and performance improvements.

Orientation processing by synaptic integration across first-order tactile neurons

The paper shows how synaptic integration across first-order tactile neurons enables accurate and rapid orientation processing of moving edges on the fingertip.

Topical heterogeneity in affective touch: Does it impact body image?

The paper investigates if tactile pleasantness and intensity vary across body sites and if body awareness and dysmorphic concerns influence preferences for CT-optimal touch.

Response modality-dependent abstract choice representations for vibrotactile comparisons

The paper identifies brain regions that represent abstract choices in vibrotactile comparisons, independent of sensorimotor components, using fMRI-MVPA and a modified task.