Tactile directional sensibility; theoretical and functional aspects

Abstract

The ability to discriminate the direction of movement across the skin utilizes several information categories. Spatial details, i.e. information regarding receptive field position and size of successively engaged primary afferents can be appraised relative to temporal details regarding the order of engagement. This procedure can be improved by utilization of information from other afferents signalling relative changes of lateral skin tension which are caused by friction and will appear around the moving object in the skin. The integrative nature of the directional sensibility can perhaps explain its particular susceptibility to deterioration compared to other tactile functional components