Abstract
There are several features of objects in our environment that are determined by tactile exploration. The information gained is used to identify the object and its properties, and to optimize its manipulation. One such important characteristic is surface texture (Lederman and Taylor, 1972; Meenes and Zigler, 1923; Kruger, 1970; LaMotte and Whitehouse, 1986). We have investigated the neural mechanisms of texture perception by correlating perceived roughness in the human with peripheral neural responses in the monkey. The texture used in our experiments is a nylon grating of alternating grooves and ridges. Such textures are relatively simple to manufacture to specification and are completely defined by 2 variables, namely the groove width and the ridge width (provided the grooves are sufficiently deep that the fingers never contact the floor of the surface). Humans can discriminate 2 such gratings that differ in spatial period by about 5% (Morley et al., 1983).
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References
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© 1991 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Goodwin, A.W., John, K.T. (1991). Peripheral Neural Basis for the Tactile Perception of Texture. In: Franzén, O., Westman, J. (eds) Information Processing in the Somatosensory System. Wenner-Gren Center International Symposium Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11597-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11597-6_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-11599-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-11597-6
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