Abstract
Skin deformation caused by contact with an object is transduced into nerve signals by tactile mechanoreceptors, allowing humans to perceive tactile information. Previous research has revealed that the mechanical state associated with finger skin deformation at mechanoreceptor locations in a finite element model is correlated with the experimentally measured responses of slowly adapting type I mechanoreceptors. However, these findings were obtained under static contact conditions. Therefore, in this study, we calculated the von Mises stress at slowly adapting type I and rapidly adapting type I mechanoreceptor locations during dynamic scanning of a textured surface using a finite element model of the human finger. We then estimated the hypothetical responses of the mechanoreceptors and compared the estimated results with the nerve firing of the receptors in previous neurophysiological experiments. These comparisons demonstrated that the temporal history of von Mises stress at mechanoreceptor locations was more strongly correlated with the “number of” impulses (R2 = 0.93 for slowly adapting type I and R2 = 0.90 for rapidly adapting type I) than the impulse “rate” (R2 = 0.58 for slowly adapting type I and R2 = 0.53 for rapidly adapting type I). Our findings suggest that the temporal history of von Mises stress can be used to roughly estimate the number of impulses of mechanoreceptors during scanning of a textured surface.
Highlights
Tactile perception provides us with physical information regarding the external world, especially the shape, material, and motion of objects
An additional study[6] further revealed that some mechanical states can account for the responses of slowly adapting type I (SA-I) and rapidly adapting afferents to indented spatial patterns. These findings suggest that the mechanical state at mechanoreceptor locations can account for the impulse rate of the receptors, which may in turn be an indicator for estimating mechanoreceptor responses using finite element (FE) models
We aimed to investigate the relationship between the transient mechanical state and mechanoreceptor responses under transient dynamic conditions during scanning of a textured surface
Summary
Tactile perception provides us with physical information regarding the external world, especially the shape, material, and motion of objects. Several researchers have evaluated the mechanical state associated with mechanical stimuli at typical mechanoreceptor locations using finite element (FE) analysis, providing further insight into the mechanisms underlying tactile perception.[2,3,4,5] One previous study revealed that the mechanical state (e.g. strain energy density (SED) and maximum principal strain) at mechanoreceptor locations is correlated with the experimentally measured nerve firing rate (impulse rate) in slowly adapting type I (SA-I) afferent nerve fibers.[2] An additional study[6] further revealed that some mechanical states can account for the responses of SA-I and rapidly adapting afferents to indented spatial patterns These findings suggest that the mechanical state at mechanoreceptor locations can account for the impulse rate of the receptors, which may in turn be an indicator for estimating mechanoreceptor responses using FE models. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the transient mechanical state and mechanoreceptor responses under transient dynamic conditions (e.g. scanning of a textured surface)
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