According to the duplex theory of tactile texture perception, detection of cutaneous vibrations produced when the exploring finger moves across a surface contributes importantly to the perception of fine textures. If this is true, a vibrating surface should feel different from a stationary one. To test this prediction, experiments were conducted in which subjects examined two identical surfaces, one of which was surreptitiously made to vibrate, and judged which of the two was smoother. In experiment 1, the vibrating surface was less and less often judged smoother as the amplitude of (150 Hz) vibration increased. The effect was comparable in subjects who realized the surface was vibrating and those who did not. Experiment 2 showed that different frequencies (150-400 Hz) were equally effective in eliciting the effect when equated in sensation level (dB SL). The results suggest that vibrotaction contributes to texture perception, and that, at least within the Pacinian channel, it does so by means of an intensity code.
Even prior to the COVID pandemic, the push for medical schools to adopt virtual anatomy curricula in lieu of human cadaveric dissection was growing. In this study, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal anatomy examination scores of first-year medical students at the UNC School of Medicine were compared across three consecutive years. These classes experienced in-person, virtual, and hybridized anatomy curriculum, respectively. There was not a single instance noted where in-person curriculum produced higher examination scores than virtual or hybridized models. By incorporating virtual or hybridized models of anatomy, medical education programs can effectively reach and educate students far beyond the traditional cadaver laboratory.
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