The effects of heat-induced pain on the detectability,discriminability, and sensation magnitude of vibrotactile stimuli |
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| Authors: | S. J. Bolanowski G. A. Gescheider A. M. Fontana J. L. Niemiec J. L. Tromblay |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute for Sensory Research, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290, USA and Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA;2. Institute for Sensory Research, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290, USA and Department of Psychology, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13324, USA;3. Department of Psychology, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA;4. Department of Psychology, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13324, USA |
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| Abstract: | The effects of heat-induced pain on absolute thresholds, sensation magnitudes and amplitude-difference thresholds were measured at 10 and 100 Hz. Consistent with previous results, heat-induced pain elevated the absolute thresholds by approximately 8.0 dB and lessened the magnitudes of tactile sensations during pain as compared to the non-painful condition. In contrast to these effects, the discriminability of change in the intensity of the vibrotactile stimuli was unaffected by the presence of pain indicating that the effect of pain on tactile sensations is more likely due to sensory rather than cognitive processes (i.e., attention) and that the mechanisms underlying tactile sensitivity as compared to discriminability are different. |
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| Keywords: | Pain Vibrotaction Touch Gate Psychophysics Intensity Discrimination Sensation Magnitude |
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