CALL FOR PAPERS Neurophysiology of Tactile Perception: A Tribute to Steven Hsiao Peripheral vs. central determinants of vibrotactile adaptation

Klöcker A, Gueorguiev D, Thonnard JL, Mouraux A. Peripheral vs. central determinants of vibrotactile adaptation. J Neurophysiol 115: 685–691, 2016. First published November 18, 2015; doi:10.1152/jn.00519.2015.—Long-lasting mechanical vibrations applied to the skin induce a reversible decrease in the perception of vibration at the stimulated skin site. This phenomenon of vibrotactile adaptation has been studied extensively, yet there is still no clear consensus on the mechanisms leading to vibrotactile adaptation. In particular, the respective contributions of 1) changes affecting mechanical skin impedance, 2) peripheral processes, and 3) central processes are largely unknown. Here we used direct electrical stimulation of nerve fibers to bypass mechanical transduction processes and thereby explore the possible contribution of central vs. peripheral processes to vibrotactile adaptation. Three experiments were conducted. In the first, adaptation was induced with mechanical vibration of the fingertip (51or 251-Hz vibration delivered for 8 min, at 40 detection threshold). In the second, we attempted to induce adaptation with transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the median nerve (51or 251-Hz constant-current pulses delivered for 8 min, at 1.5 detection threshold). Vibrotactile detection thresholds were measured before and after adaptation. Mechanical stimulation induced a clear increase of vibrotactile detection thresholds. In contrast, thresholds were unaffected by electrical stimulation. In the third experiment, we assessed the effect of mechanical adaptation on the detection thresholds to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimuli, measured before and after adaptation. Electrical detection thresholds were unaffected by the mechanical adaptation. Taken together, our results suggest that vibrotactile adaptation is predominantly the consequence of peripheral mechanoreceptor processes and/or changes in biomechanical properties of the skin.