The neural basis of perceived intensity in natural and artificial touch.

ABSTRACT: Electrical stimulation of sensory nerves is a powerful tool for studying neural coding because it can activate neural populations in ways that natural stimulation cannot. Electrical stimulation of the nerve has also been used to restore sensation to patients who have suffered the loss of a limb. We have used long-term implanted electrical interfaces to elucidate the neural basis of perceived intensity in the sense of touch. To this end, we assessed the sensory correlates of neural firing rate and neuronal population recruitment independently by varying two parameters of nerve stimulation: pulse frequency and pulse width. Specifically, two amputees, chronically implanted with peripheral nerve electrodes, performed each of three psychophysical tasks-intensity discrimination, magnitude scalin

SUBMITTER: Graczyk EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5713478 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature