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Published on: May 23, 2019
Thermal cues and the perception of force
Jessica Galie1, Lynette A Jones
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Room 3-137, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Experimental Brain Research
|August 6, 2009
Summary
Temperature changes during finger force exertion, but this does not affect perceived force magnitude. Thermal cues alone may help discriminate forces, but active force generation overrides thermal effects on perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Sensory Perception
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Skin temperature changes with applied force, potentially influencing sensory perception.
- Understanding the interplay between thermal cues and force perception is crucial for fields like human-computer interaction and prosthetics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify finger skin temperature changes relative to contact force.
- To determine if varying contact surface temperature affects the perception of actively generated finger forces.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Measured finger skin temperature across nine force levels (0.1-6 N).
- Experiment 2: Utilized a contralateral force-matching task to assess perceived force magnitude with varying contact surface temperatures (22-38°C).
Main Results:
- Finger skin temperature decreased by 2.3-4.2°C with increasing force, exceeding sensory thresholds.
- Perceived force magnitude remained consistent regardless of the contact surface temperature during active force generation.
Conclusions:
- Actively generated forces are perceived independently of contact surface temperature.
- Findings support the centrally generated theory of force perception, suggesting thermal intensification of perceived weight is absent in active force production.
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