Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Passive, active and intra-active (self) touch.

S J Bolanowski1, R T Verrillo, Francis McGlone

  • 1Institute for Sensory Research and Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA. sandy_bolanowski@isr.syr.edu

Behavioural Brain Research
|December 20, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Systematic Review of Tactile-Based Interventions Combined with Multisensory Stimulation Protocols in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Disorders of Consciousness.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same author

The physiology of feeling: C-tactile afferents scaffold the developing social brain?

The Journal of physiology·2026
Same author

An advancement of intraoperative language mapping in awake craniotomy.

Neurocase·2026
Same author

Wellbeing Effects of Human-Pet Touch in Dogs versus Cats.

Journal of applied animal welfare science : JAAWS·2026
Same author

Is cultural context the crucial touch? Neurophysiological and self-reported responses to affective touch in women in South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience·2025
Same author

Robust coupling between the C-tactile afferent and the hair follicle in humans.

The Journal of physiology·2025
Same journal

Understanding vulnerability through variability: a longitudinal twin study linking sex differences in neurodiversity, neurodevelopment and X-linked genetic mechanisms.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same journal

Hippocampal plasticity predicts behavioral lateralization and stress resilience in laying hen chicks.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same journal

Effects of retatrutide on learning and memory in streptozotocin-induced male diabetic rats.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same journal

Bacopa-Enriched Formulation Enhances Memory and Synaptic Plasticity in a Rat Model of Vascular Dementia.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same journal

Prior exposure to methylphenidate attenuates ethanol-induced conditioned place preference in zebrafish.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same journal

Plasma nectin-4 levels are associated with changes in executive function in patients with methamphetamine use disorder undergoing treatment.

Behavioural brain research·2026
See all related articles

Perceived object size during intra-active touch depends on the body site. Glabrous skin contact influences size perception, unlike hairy skin, suggesting distinct tactile mechanisms.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Haptics
  • Somatosensation

Background:

  • Active touch involves exploring objects with self-generated movements.
  • Passive touch involves receiving tactile information from external sources.
  • Intra-active touch combines active and passive tactile exploration within the body.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the passively touched body site in perceived object size during intra-active touch.
  • To determine if the type of skin (glabrous vs. hairy) influences size perception.
  • To differentiate the tactile mechanisms involved in glabrous-glabrous versus glabrous-hairy skin interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Magnitude estimations of steel ball size during active rolling (scripting) between fingertip and various body sites (thumb, thenar eminence, forearm).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Decoupling active and passive tactile roles by having subjects perform scripting on others or be touched by others.
  • Comparing size perception when intra-active touch involved glabrous skin (hands) versus hairy skin (forearm).

    • Main Results:

    • Perceived size of steel balls was dependent on the body site passively receiving the touch.
    • Passive body contribution to size perception occurred only with glabrous skin (hands).
    • Intra-active touch involving hairy skin (forearm) showed no effect of the touched surface on perceived size.

    Conclusions:

    • The perceived size of an object during intra-active touch is modulated by the characteristics of the passively contacted skin.
    • Distinct neural mechanisms underlie intra-active touch involving glabrous-glabrous skin compared to glabrous-hairy skin.
    • Glabrous skin plays a crucial role in integrating active and passive tactile information for accurate size perception.