Vertical contact forces affect vibration perception in human hairy skin

Daniel Schmidt; Guenther Schlee; Thomas L Milani; Andresa M C Germano

doi:10.7717/peerj.15952

Vertical contact forces affect vibration perception in human hairy skin

PeerJ. 2023 Sep 4:11:e15952. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15952. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Daniel Schmidt¹, Guenther Schlee², Thomas L Milani³, Andresa M C Germano¹

Affiliations

¹ Motor Control, Cognition, and Neurophysiology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany.
² Biophysics and Human Performance Lab, W.L. Gore and Associates, Putzbrunn, Bavaria, Germany.
³ Department of Human Locomotion, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Skin is the largest organ of the human body and fulfills many important functions, like detecting mechanical stimuli. Skin can be divided into glabrous (non-hairy) and hairy skin. These two skin types differ with regard to their mechanical properties and in the distribution of mechanoreceptors. Although many investigations focus on glabrous skin, hairy skin still plays a fundamental role in various activities, e.g., with regard to the perception of pleasantness or for developing wearable vibrotactile devices for pattern recognition in persons with disabilities. Unfortunately, investigations on influencing factors, like vertical contactor force, are scarce for hairy skin. Similarly, it would also be interesting to investigate whether regional vibratory sensitivity differences are present across the human torso. Hence, this study investigated the effects of vertical contactor forces and different anatomical locations on vibration perception. Four anatomical torso regions were studied. Based on findings in glabrous skin, we generally hypothesized improved vibration perception with increasing contactor forces and regional sensitivity differences between the anatomical locations.

Methods: Forty young and healthy individuals participated (23.0 ± 2.0 yrs), and vibration perception thresholds (VPTs) were determined at 30 Hz for three vertical force levels (0.6, 2.4, and 4.8 N) at four torso locations (sternum, deltoid/shoulder, lower back, middle lateral torso side).

Results: Higher contactor forces resulted in lower VPTs corresponding to improved vibration perception, regardless of anatomical location. In addition, the sternum region was more sensitive than the remaining three regions, regardless of force level. The reasons for these findings may be a varying number and activation pattern of afferents activated under the different conditions. The findings of this study complement the understanding of vibrotactile sensitivity in hairy skin and may offer implications when developing vibrotactile devices or clothing/textiles, for example.

Keywords: Contactor force; Cutaneous sensitivity; Hairy skin; Sensitivity; VPTs; Vibration perception thresholds.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Back
Humans
Perception
Skin*
Torso
Vibration*

Grants and funding

This study was funded by W.L. Gore and Associates GmbH. The publication costs of this article were funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) project number 491193532 and the Chemnitz University of Technology. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.