Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
10
pubmed:dateCreated
2009-5-26
pubmed:abstractText
Previous studies have shown that blind subjects may outperform the sighted on certain tactile discrimination tasks. We recently showed that blind subjects outperformed the sighted in a haptic 2D-angle discrimination task. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of the same blind (n=16) and sighted (n=17, G1) subjects in three tactile discrimination tasks dependent solely on cutaneous inputs from the fingertip of the index finger, D2. A second group of sighted subjects (n=30, G2) were also tested. Texture discrimination thresholds were 0.62 (G1)-0.80 mm (G2) for the sighted subjects, and 0.64 mm for the blind (standard, 2mm spatial period). Grating orientation thresholds were 0.99 (G1)-1.12 mm (G2) for the sighted subjects, and 0.96 mm for the blind. Finally, vibrotactile frequency discrimination thresholds (100 Hz standard) were 19.5 (G2) and 20.0 Hz (G1) for the sighted, and 16.5 Hz for the blind subjects. There were no significant differences in performance between the blind and the sighted subjects for the grating orientation or vibrotactile frequency discrimination tasks. In contrast, blind subjects outperformed the sighted for the texture discrimination task (G2 only), possibly reflecting the fact that the raised dot surfaces were similar to the dots forming Braille characters (all were fluent Braille readers).
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
1873-3514
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
47
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2037-43
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-11
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Adolescent, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Age of Onset, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Blindness, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Discrimination (Psychology), pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Female, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Fingers, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Light, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Male, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Neuropsychological Tests, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Orientation, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Photic Stimulation, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Psychophysics, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Reaction Time, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Sensory Thresholds, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Signal Detection, Psychological, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Skin, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Touch, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Vibration, pubmed-meshheading:19467354-Young Adult
pubmed:year
2009
pubmed:articleTitle
Tactile acuity in the blind: a closer look reveals superiority over the sighted in some but not all cutaneous tasks.
pubmed:affiliation
Département de Psychologie, Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Université de Montréal, Succ Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, Canada.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't