Lingual vibrotactile threshold shift during magnitude-estimation scaling: Effects on magnitude-estimation responses and scaling behavior

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine if lingual vibrotactile threshold shifts occurred during magnitude-estimation scaling of suprathreshold stimuli presented to the dorsal surface of the tongue. Possible relationships of the lingual vibrotactile threshold shifts to suprathreshold stimulus intensity, magnitude-estimation responses, and overall scaling behavior were explored. A single group of 24 subjects with an age range of 18 to 22 years participated in this study. Each subject performed two magnitude-estimation tasks. In one of the tasks, threshold of sensitivity was determined after every suprathreshold numerical response of the subject. If a threshold shift was recorded, threshold was allowed to return to the pretest baseline level before continuing to the next suprathreshold stimulus presentation. The results showed that threshold shift did occur during lingual vibrotactile magnitude-estimation scaling, and that it was related to suprathreshold stimulus intensity. The results also showed that the numerical magnitude-estimation responses of the subjects were different for the two scaling tasks. Overall scaling behavior of the subjects in the form of power-function exponents was not different for the two tasks.

Effects of stimulus duration and stimulus intensity level on recovery times for lingual vibrotactile threshold shift

“…Particularly, increased thresholds have been documented during lingual vibrotactile magnitudeestimation scaling tasks, with the amount of threshold shift being directly related to the intensity of the suprathreshold stimulus applied to the tongue (Fucci, Petrosino, Harris, Randolph-Tyler, & Wagner, 1989;Fucci, Petrosino, Schuster, & Randolph, 1991;Fucci, Petrosino, Schuster, & Wagner, 1990;. This phenomenon occurs in normal subjects independent of gender or age (Fucci et a\., 1991) .…”