Skin properties and afferent density in the deterioration of tactile spatial acuity with age.

ABSTRACT: Tactile sensitivity is affected by age, as shown by the deterioration of spatial acuity assessed with the two-point discrimination task. This is assumed to be partly a result of age-related changes of the peripheral somatosensory system. In particular, in the elderly, the density of mechanoreceptive afferents decreases with age and the skin tends to become drier, less elastic and less stiff. To assess to what degree mechanoreceptor density, skin hydration, elasticity and stiffness can account for the deterioration of tactile spatial sensitivity observed in the elderly, several approaches were combined, including psychophysics, measurements of finger properties, modelling and simulation of the response of first-order tactile neurons. Psychophysics confirmed that the Elderly group has lower

SUBMITTER: Deflorio D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10107475 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature