Differences in sensory function between young (n = 42, 18-31 years old) and older (n = 137, 60-88 years old) adults were examined for auditory, visual, and tactile measures of threshold sensitivity and temporal acuity (gap-detection threshold). For all but one of the psychophysical measures (visual gap detection), multiple measures were obtained at different stimulus frequencies for each modali...

Across the foot sole, there are vibration and monofilament sensory differences despite an alleged even distribution of cutaneous afferents. Mechanical property differences across foot sole sites have been proposed to account for these differences. Vibration (VPT; 3 Hz, 40 Hz, 250 Hz), and monofilament (MF) perception threshold measurements were compared with skin hardness, epidermal thickness, ...

Sensory strength-duration curves were obtained using percutaneous true square-wave pulses ranging from 0.1 to 20.0 ms produced by an isolated constant current stimulator. In 119 healthy volunteers sensory thresholds were measured bilaterally by stimulating the distal phalange of the little finger. In order to examine the relationship of sensory threshold and handedness the latter was assessed b...

Rhodobacter sphaeroides cells were tethered by their flagella and subjected to increasing and decreasing nutrient gradients. Using motion analysis, changes in flagellar motor rotation were measured and the responses of the cells to the chemotactic gradients were determined. The steepness and concentration ranges of increasing and decreasing gradients were varied, and the bacterial responses wer...

There is, as is well known, a peculiar phase of sleep which is known by different names; paradoxical phase (p. p) (JOUVET 1960), activated sleep (DEMENT 1958), early morning sleep (GIBBS and GIBBS 1950), recently REMP (KLEITMAN and DEMENT 1957) and so on. The major features of this stage are: LVFA (low voltage fast activity) or waking pattern in EEG, behavioral deep sleep with high sensory thre...

The retina is one of the best known quantum detectors with rods able to reliably respond to single photons. However, estimates on the number of photons eliciting conscious perception, based on signal detection theory, are systematically above these values after discounting by retinal losses. One possibility is that there is a trade-off between the limited motor resources available to living sys...

Correlations between personality traits and a wide range of sensory thresholds were examined. Participants (N = 124) completed a personality inventory (NEO-FFI) and underwent assessment of olfactory, trigeminal, tactile and gustatory detection thresholds, as well as examination of trigeminal and tactile pain thresholds. Significantly enhanced odor sensitivity in socially agreeable people, signi...

Given the limited resources of visual working memory, multiple items may be remembered as an averaged group or ensemble. As a result, local information may be ill-defined, but these ensemble representations provide accurate diagnostics of the natural world by combining gist information with item-level information held in visual working memory. Some neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized...

By using an isolated constant current stimulator producing true square-wave pulses, sensory strength-duration curves were obtained at various sites by percutaneous electrical stimulation. Strength-duration curves derived from normal groups were compared to those of patients with peripheral neuropathy. Stimulus strength at sensory threshold was shown to be a reproducible measure of sensory defic...

Quantitative sensory testing has become a common approach to evaluate thermal and vibratory thresholds in various types of neuropathies. To understand the effect of aging on sensory perception, we measured warm, cold, and vibratory thresholds by performing quantitative sensory testing on a population of 484 normal subjects (175 males and 309 females), aged 48.61 +/- 14.10 (range 20-86) years. S...