Tactile Behavior Research Articles

Multi-touch Interaction Data Analysis System (MIDAS) for 2-D tactile display research

The study of haptic perception and cognition requires data about how humans interact with tactile surfaces in the context of performing cognitive tasks. MIDAS is a set of three tools for the digital capture, coding, analysis, and interpretation of time-series, multitouch, interactive behaviors on a tactile surface. The MIDAS-logger uses the current screen technology of tablet computers to capture touches (up to ten fingers at high spatial and temporal resolution) through conventional tactile graphics that are overlaid on the screen. The MIDAS-analyser is a software program for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of MIDAS-logger touch data, which includes a fully interactive visualization of the data and a yoked display of a conventional simultaneous video recording made of the interactions. MIDAS-tactile protocol analysis (TPA) provides a scheme and a method to enable the rich coding and interpretation of tactile behaviors over multiple spatial and temporal scales. The efficacy of MIDAS was assessed against a set of criteria drawn from the successes and limitations of prior approaches to the study of tactile interactions. To demonstrate the functions of MIDAS, its three components were used to capture, analyze, code, and interpret the behavior of an experienced user and an inexperienced user of tactile graphics as they performed a shape-matching task.

You touched it and I’m relieved! The effect of online review’s tactile cues on consumer’s purchase intention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of online review’s tactile cues in consumer’s purchase intention, given the absence of direct experience in online shopping. Design/methodology/approach Based on four empirical studies, the authors examine the role of online review’s tactile cues in consumer’s purchase intention. A secondary data analysis on Taobao and three experiments were conducted. Findings First, this research demonstrates that tactile cues in online reviews are sure to have a significant influence on consumers’ purchase intention. Second, the purchase intention of consumers is easily influenced by the reviews of holistic tactile cues of the search product, which affects the final purchase intention through the way of outcome simulation. Consumers’ purchase intention is also easily influenced by concrete tactile cues of experience product, which affects the final purchase intention through the way of process simulation. Temporal distance is the boundary condition. Practical implications A seller should manage the order of online review or labels related to corresponding tactile cues, in order to encourage consumers to comment on the relevant tactile features. Besides, in the aspect of website design, a seller can also encourage consumers to image about the process and the result of using so as to promote his sales volume. Social implications The conclusion may give a solution on how to deal with the absence of direct experience in online shopping. Originality/value There has been little research about the influences of others' tactile behaviors on consumers' behaviors. The authors focus the other tactile experience in online review. The previous studies on online reviews focus on the its influences of valence, quantity and sentiment polarity on the usefulness of reviews and sales volume. However, few studies are explored on contents of reviews. The authors focus on the content such as tactile cues.

Tactile Behaviors with the Vision-Based Tactile Sensor FingerVision

This paper introduces a vision-based tactile sensor FingerVision, and explores its usefulness in tactile behaviors. FingerVision consists of a transparent elastic skin marked with dots, and a camera that is easy to fabricate, low cost, and physically robust. Unlike other vision-based tactile sensors, the complete transparency of the FingerVision skin provides multimodal sensation. The modalities sensed by FingerVision include distributions of force and slip, and object information such as distance, location, pose, size, shape, and texture. The slip detection is very sensitive since it is obtained by computer vision directly applied to the output from the FingerVision camera. It provides high-resolution slip detection, which does not depend on the contact force, i.e., it can sense slip of a lightweight object that generates negligible contact force. The tactile behaviors explored in this paper include manipulations that utilize this feature. For example, we demonstrate that grasp adaptation with FingerVision can grasp origami, and other deformable and fragile objects such as vegetables, fruits, and raw eggs.

Does Vibrissal Innervation Patterns and Investment Predict Hydrodynamic Trail Following Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina)?

Our understanding of vibrissal function in pinnipeds is poor due to the lack of comparative morphological, neurobiological, and psychophysical performance data. In contrast, the function of terrestrial mammalian vibrissae is better studied. Pinnipeds have the largest vibrissae of all mammals, and phocids may have the most modified vibrissae. The tactile performance for pinniped vibrissae is well known for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Harbor seals display at least two types of tactile behavior involving their mystacial vibrissae: a fine discriminatory capability using active touch and hydrodynamic trail following (the ability to detect and follow turbulent trails). This study investigated innervation patterns of harbor seal follicle-sinus complexes (F-SCs) to test the hypothesis that the whiskers used in hydrodynamic trail following possess increased innervation investment compared to other phocids. Therefore, the most lateral vibrissae from five harbor seals were histologically processed so that morphometric measurements and axon counts could be collected. Vibrissae from one harbor seal were immunolabeled with anti-protein gene product (PGP 9.5) to document the pattern of deep vibrissal nerve innervation of the F-SCs. Overall, harbor seals showed an innervation pattern (axons/F-SC and axons/muzzle) similar to other phocids. The ventrolateral vibrissae, involved in hydrodynamic trail following, have greater axon density in harbor seals than harp seals, suggesting harbor seal F-SC innervation patterns could explain their performance at trail following. The combination of microstructural, innervation investment, and behavioral data provides a foundation for functional inference regarding this tactile behavior in harbor seals and also facilitates future comparative work for other pinniped species. Anat Rec, 302:1837-1845, 2019. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy.

Visual and tactile behaviors of octopus: Do they recognize their environments by cross-modal perception?

Visual and tactile behaviors of octopus: Do they recognize their environments by cross-modal perception?

Deficits in Behavioral Functions of Intact Barrel Cortex Following Lesions of Homotopic Contralateral Cortex.

Focal unilateral injuries to the somatosensory whisker barrel cortex have been shown cause long-lasting deficits in the activity and experience-dependent plasticity of neurons in the intact contralateral barrel cortex. However, the long-term effect of these deficits on behavioral functions of the intact contralesional cortex is not clear. In this study, we used the “Gap-crossing task” a barrel cortex-dependent, whisker-sensitive, tactile behavior to test the hypothesis that unilateral lesions of the somatosensory cortex would affect behavioral functions of the intact somatosensory cortex and degrade the execution of a bilaterally learnt behavior. Adult rats were trained to perform the Gap-crossing task using whiskers on both sides of the face. The barrel cortex was then lesioned unilaterally by subpial aspiration. As observed in other studies, when rats used whiskers that directly projected to the lesioned hemisphere the performance of Gap-crossing was drastically compromised, perhaps due to direct effect of lesion. Significant and persistent deficits were present when the lesioned rats performed Gap-crossing task using whiskers that projected to the intact cortex. The deficits were specific to performance of the task at the highest levels of sensitivity. Comparable deficits were seen when normal, bilaterally trained, rats performed the Gap-crossing task with only the whiskers on one side of the face or when they used only two rows of whiskers (D row and E row) intact on both side of the face. These findings indicate that the prolonged impairment in execution of the learnt task by rats with unilateral lesions of somatosensory cortex could be because sensory inputs from one set of whiskers to the intact cortex is insufficient to provide adequate sensory information at higher thresholds of detection. Our data suggest that optimal performance of somatosensory behavior requires dynamic activity-driven interhemispheric interactions from the entire somatosensory inputs between homotopic areas of the cerebral cortex. These results imply that focal unilateral cortical injuries, including those in humans, are likely to have widespread bilateral effects on information processing including in intact areas of the cortex.

The mindedness of maternal touch: An investigation of maternal mind-mindedness and mother-infant touch interactions

Increasing evidence shows that maternal touch may promote emotion regulation in infants, however less is known about how parental higher-order social cognition abilities are translated into tactile, affect-regulatory behaviours towards their infants. During 10 min book-reading, mother-infant sessions when infants were 12 months old (N = 45), we investigated maternal mind-mindedness (MM), the social cognitive ability to understand an infant’s mental state, by coding the contingency of maternal verbal statements towards the infants’ needs and desires. We also rated spontaneous tactile interactions in terms of their emotional contingency. We found that frequent non-attuned mind-related comments were associated with touch behaviours that were not contingent with the infant’s emotions; ultimately discouraging affective tactile responses from the infant. However, comments that were more appropriate to infant’s mental states did not necessarily predict more emotionally-contingent tactile behaviours. These findings suggest that when parental high-order social cognitive abilities are compromised, they are also likely to translate into inappropriate, tactile attempts to regulate infant’s emotions.

Assessing the dyadic social relationships of female african (Loxodonta africana) and asian (Elephas maximus) zoo elephants using proximity, tactile contact, and keeper surveys

Understanding the affiliative social relationships, or bonds, between zoo elephants has implications for both their welfare and management, yet there is limited work assessing and describing these bonds. Consequently, there is a need for the development of a reliable assessment tool. We used multiple metrics of proximity and tactile contact, as well as keeper surveys, to assess the social bond strength of 41 elephant dyads from 22 different zoos. Survey descriptions of social bond strength were based on previous research and included proximity and separation-reunion behaviors between individuals in a dyad. Approximately half of the elephant dyads in our study were rated as having a “strong” or “strongest” bond by keepers, who showed excellent agreement in their ratings of elephant bond strength (ICC(1,k)=0.82). Elephant dyads that spent more time in proximity (within two elephant body lengths), and those that were more consistent in this behavior across time had an increased predicted probability of being rated as having a “strong or strongest bond” by keepers (p<0.001; p=0.002; respectively). Affiliative tactile contact within dyads, described using duration, diversity, symmetry, and variability metrics, was not significantly related to keeper assessments of dyad bond strength. On average, proximity within dyads occurred more often and was less variable than dyads’ tactile behaviors. Our results suggest that tactile contact may play a more limited role in the maintenance of zoo elephant social bonds than proximity; however, additional research is needed to confirm this. Additionally, this study suggests that keepers are accurately assessing the proximity behavior of their elephants, highlighting the potential of this survey tool to reliably measure the social bond strength of zoo elephant dyads.

“Lady, Shall I Lie in Your Lap?”: Gender, Status, and Touch on the English Stage

“Lady, Shall I Lie in Your Lap?”: Gender, Status, and Touch on the English Stage

Observations of a Paternal Male with Bottlenose Dolphin Calf (Tursiops truncatus): A Case Study

The rearing and socialization of bottlenose dolphin calves has been largely described as a female role, whether via direct maternal care or allomaternal parenting. Nevertheless, male associations have been observed but are rarely systematically investigated. This case study focused on the opportunistic occurrence of a single bottlenose calf and her associations with the mother, father and two unrelated allomothers in a captive setting. Observations were made postpartum of an adult male and his female calf multiple times per day over the course of the first year of the calf’s life, including social (proximity and orientation), aggressive (tail slapping/swatting, threats, jaw popping, chasing) and tactile behaviors. For comparative analyses, data were simultaneously collected on mother-calf and allomother interactions. The results revealed that cohabitation of the paternal male and offspring was prosocial, with negligible levels of aggression (0.03%) even during maternal estrous. The male demonstrated minimal aggressive behaviors toward the calf (e.g., chasing), none of which resulted in injury. Rather, the male’s interactions with the calf were considerably affiliative. Although the frequency of interactions between the paternal male and the calf were less than the mother’s, father-calf interactions were significantly more frequent than were calf interactions with other dolphins. Over the course of the study, the number of interactions the calf had with mother, father, and allomothers decreased. Overall, these results confirm that care can involve the paternal male, although the relative size of the enclosed setting limits extrapolations to the wild. Nonetheless, these observations suggest that some dolphin fathers may play a role in their calves’ social development and rearing. Although additional research on calf socialization is required, the dolphin father in this study established and maintained a social bond with his female calf that was clearly affiliative, and these associations occurred significantly more often than those between the calf and her allomothers.

Neural mechanisms of selective attention in the somatosensory system.

Selective attention allows organisms to extract behaviorally relevant information while ignoring distracting stimuli that compete for the limited resources of their central nervous systems. Attention is highly flexible, and it can be harnessed to select information based on sensory modality, within-modality feature(s), spatial location, object identity, and/or temporal properties. In this review, we discuss the body of work devoted to understanding mechanisms of selective attention in the somatosensory system. In particular, we describe the effects of attention on tactile behavior and corresponding neural activity in somatosensory cortex. Our focus is on neural mechanisms that select tactile stimuli based on their location on the body (somatotopic-based attention) or their sensory feature (feature-based attention). We highlight parallels between selection mechanisms in touch and other sensory systems and discuss several putative neural coding schemes employed by cortical populations to signal the behavioral relevance of sensory inputs. Specifically, we contrast the advantages and disadvantages of using a gain vs. spike-spike correlation code for representing attended sensory stimuli. We favor a neural network model of tactile attention that is composed of frontal, parietal, and subcortical areas that controls somatosensory cells encoding the relevant stimulus features to enable preferential processing throughout the somatosensory hierarchy. Our review is based on data from noninvasive electrophysiological and imaging data in humans as well as single-unit recordings in nonhuman primates.

Biology to Technology in Active Touch Sensing – Introduction to the Special Section

The six papers included in this special section address the diverse challenges of active touch sensing in robots, humans, or other animals. Of these, two papers address tactile sensing in non-human animals, two papers concern tactile behavior for artificial human hands those of robots or of upper limb prostheses, one paper provides a comparative examination of three paradigms for active touch with biomimetic whiskers and fingertips, and one paper focuses on active touch sensing of surface texture in humans. Together, these papers highlight the breadth of research in the field, and the extent of cross-disciplinary inquiry that is frequently involved.

Impact of Opioid and Nonopioid Drugs on Postsurgical Pain Management in the Rat.

Aim. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opioids are commonly used to control surgical pain following veterinary and clinical procedures. This study evaluated the efficacy of postoperative ketorolac or buprenorphine following abdominal surgery. Main Methods. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, animal activity, corticosterone levels, and a nociceptive sensitivity assay were used to evaluate 18 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats which underwent aortic artery occlusion for implantation of a radiotelemetry device. The animals were treated postoperatively with intraperitoneal injections of vehicle, ketorolac (10 mg/kg), or buprenorphine (0.06 mg/kg) every 8 hours for 3 days. Key Findings. There were no consistent significant changes in any of the telemetry parameters after treatment with ketorolac compared with no saline treatment with the exception of increased MAP in the buprenorphine group during the first 48 hours when compared with other treatment groups. There was a sustained increase in fecal corticosterone levels from baseline on days 2–7 with buprenorphine compared with vehicle- or ketorolac-treated animals. All treatment conditions displayed reduced paw withdrawal thresholds (PWTs) from day 1 to day 21 following surgery. Compared with the vehicle treatment group, buprenorphine-treated animals exhibited significantly lower PWT levels from day 4 to 14 days. Significance. Given the prolonged increase in fecal corticosterone levels and pronounced changes in tactile hyperalgesia behavior in rodents subjected to buprenorphine treatment, these data suggest that ketorolac may be superior to buprenorphine for the treatment of postprocedure pain behavior in rodents.

A Cellular Resolution Map of Barrel Cortex Activity during Tactile Behavior

Comprehensive measurement of neural activity remains challenging due to the large numbers of neurons in each brain area. We used volumetric two-photon imaging in mice expressing GCaMP6s and nuclear red fluorescent proteins to sample activity in 75% of superficial barrel cortex neurons across the relevant cortical columns, approximately 12,000 neurons per animal, during performance of a single whisker object localization task. Task-related activity peaked during object palpation. An encoding model related activity to behavioral variables. In the column corresponding to the spared whisker, 300 layer (L) 2/3 pyramidal neurons (17%) each encoded touch and whisker movements. Touch representation declined by half in surrounding columns; whisker movement representation was unchanged. Following the emergence of stereotyped task-related movement, sensory representations showed no measurable plasticity. Touch direction was topographically organized, with distinct organization for passive and active touch. Our work reveals sparse and spatially intermingled representations of multiple tactile features. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Adaptive Molting Signal in a Gregarious Sawfly Larva, Perga affinis?

For any arthropod, molting is a risky endeavor; it leaves an organism vulnerable until its new cuticle hardens. In some social organisms, the safest place for an individual to molt may be within their group. Here I present preliminary observations of a potential signaling behavior associated with molting in the gregarious larvae of the Australian sawfly, Perga affinis. Observations of molting activity revealed that larvae were significantly more likely to molt during the day, while residing in tight clusters, than at night when they were dispersed. Additionally, on two occasions I witnessed a vibrational and tactile behavior given by a larva 30 min prior to ecdysis. In each case, this behavior affected the other group members by delaying dispersal for foraging until the molting individual finished ecdysis; this change in the group’s behavior suggests that the molting larva engaged in a form of communication. Potential benefits for a molting signal are discussed.

Whisking

Eyes may be 'the window to the soul' in humans, but whiskers provide a better path to the inner lives of rodents. The brain has remarkable abilities to focus its limited resources on information that matters, while ignoring a cacophony of distractions. While inspecting a visual scene, primates foveate to multiple salient locations, for example mouths and eyes in images of people, and ignore the rest. Similar processes have now been observed and studied in rodents in the context of whisker-based tactile sensation. Rodents use their mechanosensitive whiskers for a diverse range of tactile behaviors such as navigation, object recognition and social interactions. These animals move their whiskers in a purposive manner to locations of interest. The shapes of whiskers, as well as their movements, are exquisitely adapted for tactile exploration in the dark tight burrows where many rodents live. By studying whisker movements during tactile behaviors, we can learn about the tactile information available to rodents through their whiskers and how rodents direct their attention. In this primer, we focus on how the whisker movements of rats and mice are providing clues about the logic of active sensation and the underlying neural mechanisms.

Procedures for Behavioral Experiments in Head-Fixed Mice

The mouse is an increasingly prominent model for the analysis of mammalian neuronal circuits. Neural circuits ultimately have to be probed during behaviors that engage the circuits. Linking circuit dynamics to behavior requires precise control of sensory stimuli and measurement of body movements. Head-fixation has been used for behavioral research, particularly in non-human primates, to facilitate precise stimulus control, behavioral monitoring and neural recording. However, choice-based, perceptual decision tasks by head-fixed mice have only recently been introduced. Training mice relies on motivating mice using water restriction. Here we describe procedures for head-fixation, water restriction and behavioral training for head-fixed mice, with a focus on active, whisker-based tactile behaviors. In these experiments mice had restricted access to water (typically 1 ml/day). After ten days of water restriction, body weight stabilized at approximately 80% of initial weight. At that point mice were trained to discriminate sensory stimuli using operant conditioning. Head-fixed mice reported stimuli by licking in go/no-go tasks and also using a forced choice paradigm using a dual lickport. In some cases mice learned to discriminate sensory stimuli in a few trials within the first behavioral session. Delay epochs lasting a second or more were used to separate sensation (e.g. tactile exploration) and action (i.e. licking). Mice performed a variety of perceptual decision tasks with high performance for hundreds of trials per behavioral session. Up to four months of continuous water restriction showed no adverse health effects. Behavioral performance correlated with the degree of water restriction, supporting the importance of controlling access to water. These behavioral paradigms can be combined with cellular resolution imaging, random access photostimulation, and whole cell recordings.

Differences in practices of body stimulation during the first 3 months: Ethnotheories and behaviors of Italian mothers and West African immigrant mothers

This study investigated cultural differences, continuity and change of practices concerning body stimulation in a context of immigration. Parenting behaviors during the interaction with infants at 4, 8 and 12 weeks, and parenting ethnotheories at 12 weeks of first-generation West African immigrant mothers in Italy and autochthonous Italian mothers were compared. A qualitative inspection of ethnotheories using a thematic approach was included. As expected, results showed that immigrant mothers placed more emphasis on motor stimulation and showed longer durations of rhythmic motor and rhythmic tactile behaviors than Italian mothers; the latter placed more emphasis on tactile stimulation than immigrant mothers. The practice of motor stimulation in immigrant mothers was also adapted to values of the new context of life, becoming a positive interaction game with a mutual exchange of positive emotions. Findings express the complexity of a multidimensional process of acculturation.

Children With Autism Show Reduced Somatosensory Response: An MEG Study

The neural underpinnings of sensory processing differences in autism remain poorly understood. This prospective magnetoencephalography (MEG) study investigates whether children with autism show atypical cortical activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in comparison with matched controls. Tactile stimuli were clearly detectable, and painless taps were applied to the distal phalanx of the second (D2) and third (D3) fingers of the right and left hands. Three tactile paradigms were administered: an oddball paradigm (standard taps to D3 at an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 0.33 and deviant taps to D2 with ISI ranging from 1.32 s to 1.64 s); a slow-rate paradigm (D2) with an ISI matching the deviant taps in the oddball paradigm; and a fast-rate paradigm (D2) with an ISI matching the standard taps in the oddball. Study subjects were boys (age 7-11 years) with and without autism disorder. Sensory behavior was quantified using the Sensory Profile questionnaire. Boys with autism exhibited smaller amplitude left hemisphere S1 response to slow and deviant stimuli during the right-hand paradigms. In post-hoc analysis, tactile behavior directly correlated with the amplitude of cortical response. Consequently, the children were re-categorized by degree of parent-report tactile sensitivity. This regrouping created a more robust distinction between the groups with amplitude diminution in the left and right hemispheres and latency prolongation in the right hemisphere in the deviant and slow-rate paradigms for the affected children. This study suggests that children with autism have early differences in somatosensory processing, which likely influence later stages of cortical activity from integration to motor response.

The Role of Touch in the Social Interactions of Asian Elephants (&lt;em&gt;Elephas maximus&lt;/em&gt;)

In order to successfully engage in social interactions, it is necessary to recognize and respond to the communicative cues provided by the other participants in these interactions. Communicative signals can occur in a variety of sensory modalities, including vision, sound, olfaction, and touch. In this study, we focus on the role of touch in the social interactions of elephants. Both aggressive and nonaggressive tactile behaviors were examined. In all cases, the body parts used to initiate tactile behaviors as well as the body parts that received these tactile behaviors were analyzed. Significant differences were seen in the overall frequency of tactile behaviors initiated and received by each elephant, as well as in the frequency of aggressive and nonaggressive tactile behaviors initiated and received by each elephant. The trunk was the body part most commonly used to initiate and receive tactile behaviors. The influence of several factors on the observed tactile behavior patterns are discussed, including the influence of social rank and movement in the social hierarchy.