High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset
Human tactile afferents provide essential feedback for grasp stability during dexterous object manipulation. Interacting forces between an object and the fingers induce slip events that are thought to provide information about grasp stability. To gain insight into this phenomenon, we made a transpar...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2021-04-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/64679 |
| _version_ | 1811236739225747456 |
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| author | Benoit P Delhaye Ewa Jarocka Allan Barrea Jean-Louis Thonnard Benoni Edin Philippe Lefèvre |
| author_facet | Benoit P Delhaye Ewa Jarocka Allan Barrea Jean-Louis Thonnard Benoni Edin Philippe Lefèvre |
| author_sort | Benoit P Delhaye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human tactile afferents provide essential feedback for grasp stability during dexterous object manipulation. Interacting forces between an object and the fingers induce slip events that are thought to provide information about grasp stability. To gain insight into this phenomenon, we made a transparent surface slip against a fixed fingerpad while monitoring skin deformation at the contact. Using microneurography, we simultaneously recorded the activity of single tactile afferents innervating the fingertips. This unique combination allowed us to describe how afferents respond to slip events and to relate their responses to surface deformations taking place inside their receptive fields. We found that all afferents were sensitive to slip events, but fast-adapting type I (FA-I) afferents in particular faithfully encoded compressive strain rates resulting from those slips. Given the high density of FA-I afferents in fingerpads, they are well suited to detect incipient slips and to provide essential information for the control of grip force during manipulation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T12:14:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33d88088760d4337a87d5ad276899268 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T12:14:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-33d88088760d4337a87d5ad2768992682022-12-22T03:33:29ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2021-04-011010.7554/eLife.64679High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onsetBenoit P Delhaye0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3974-7921Ewa Jarocka1Allan Barrea2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1094-4596Jean-Louis Thonnard3Benoni Edin4Philippe Lefèvre5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2032-3635Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, SwedenInstitute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumInstitute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, SwedenInstitute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, BelgiumHuman tactile afferents provide essential feedback for grasp stability during dexterous object manipulation. Interacting forces between an object and the fingers induce slip events that are thought to provide information about grasp stability. To gain insight into this phenomenon, we made a transparent surface slip against a fixed fingerpad while monitoring skin deformation at the contact. Using microneurography, we simultaneously recorded the activity of single tactile afferents innervating the fingertips. This unique combination allowed us to describe how afferents respond to slip events and to relate their responses to surface deformations taking place inside their receptive fields. We found that all afferents were sensitive to slip events, but fast-adapting type I (FA-I) afferents in particular faithfully encoded compressive strain rates resulting from those slips. Given the high density of FA-I afferents in fingerpads, they are well suited to detect incipient slips and to provide essential information for the control of grip force during manipulation.https://elifesciences.org/articles/64679tactileafferentmicroneurographytouchhumanskin |
| spellingShingle | Benoit P Delhaye Ewa Jarocka Allan Barrea Jean-Louis Thonnard Benoni Edin Philippe Lefèvre High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset eLife tactile afferent microneurography touch human skin |
| title | High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset |
| title_full | High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset |
| title_fullStr | High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset |
| title_short | High-resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset |
| title_sort | high resolution imaging of skin deformation shows that afferents from human fingertips signal slip onset |
| topic | tactile afferent microneurography touch human skin |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/64679 |
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