Abstract
We have previously found that a vertical force or tactile sensation occurs when the temperature of a participant’s skin changes rapidly. In this illusion, upward motion, pressure, or force sensation is elicited when stimulus temperature rises rapidly, whereas in the opposite case, downward motion or pulling sensation is elicited. In this paper, we applied this phenomenon to the sole (plantar surface of the foot) to present the sensation of ground slope. To investigate this, we conducted an experiment that measured the correlation between stimulation temperature and front–back direction position of the center of gravity. Participants stood on a thermal stimulator on Nintendo Wii Balance Board, and they remained standing during 30-s dynamic temperature stimulus. In result of analysis, it was suggested that dynamic thermal change in sole might influence standing position, and the effect pattern was anomalous in case of the participants who reported a swaying sensation without a haptic sensation. This behavior might be applied to the diagnosis of the presence of thermoesthesia of the patients who might have disease with absence of thermoesthesia.
Highlights
Relationships have previously been found between thermal sensation and haptic sensations
Around 50% of all participants reported that they had perceived a haptic sensation in conditions (a) through (d), which generated a dynamic temperature change (Figure 4A)
Most participants who felt a haptic sensation commented that an upward sensation was elicited when the temperature was rising, whereas in the opposite case, a downward sensation was elicited, which agrees with our previous findings (Watanabe and Kajimoto, 2014)
Summary
Relationships have previously been found between thermal sensation and haptic sensations. Pressure sensation can be elicited by high temperature water vapor (Kai et al, 2011), and controlling the speed of temperature change at the moment that the fingers touch a surface can provide the illusion of touching different materials (Yamamoto et al, 2006). We have found that a force or pressure-like sensation perpendicular to the contact surface is elicited when the temperature of a touched object changes rapidly (Watanabe and Kajimoto, 2014). In this illusion, upward motion, upward pressure, or force sensation is elicited when stimulus temperature rises, whereas in the opposite case, downward motion or pulling sensation is elicited.
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