Intramanual and intermanual transfer of the curvature aftereffect.

Full Abstract

The existence and transfer of a haptic curvature aftereffect was investigated to obtain a greater insight into neural representation of shape. The haptic curvature aftereffect is the phenomenon whereby a flat surface is judged concave if the preceding touched stimulus was convex and vice versa. Single fingers were used to touch the subsequently presented stimuli. A substantial aftereffect was found when the adaptation surface and the test surface were touched by the same finger. Furthermore, a partial, but significant transfer of the aftereffect was demonstrated between fingers of the same hand and between fingers of both the hands. These results provide evidence that curvature information is not only represented at a level that is directly connected to the mechanoreceptors of individual fingers but is also represented at a stage in the somatosensory cortex shared by the fingers of both the hands.

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Author information

Author/s: van der Horst, Bernard J (BJ); Duijndam, Maarten J A (MJ); Ketels, Myrna F M (MF); Wilbers, Martine T J M (MT); Zwijsen, Sandra A (SA); Kappers, Astrid M L (AM);

Affiliation: Department of Physics of Man, Helmholtz Instituut, Universiteit Utrecht, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. b.j.vanderhorst@uu.nl

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Experimental brain research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Expérimentation cérébrale (Exp Brain Res), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-May; vol 187 (issue 3) : pp 491-6

Dates: Created 2008/05/08; Completed 2008/07/21;

PMID: 18438649, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Female
Figural Aftereffect
Functional Laterality - physiology
Hand - physiology
Humans

Humans
Male
Physical Stimulation - methods
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Stereognosis
Transfer (Psychology)

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