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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...
Perception of Sound Waves01:01

Perception of Sound Waves

The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
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Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
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Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)
04:40

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Published on: July 30, 2020

Haptic distal spatial perception mediated by strings: haptic "looming".

Patrick A Cabe1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, USA. patrick.cabe@uncp.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|June 22, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals how the tactile sense can perceive distance, similar to how vision detects approaching objects. Participants accurately judged distances using a string, demonstrating haptic spatial perception.

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Last Updated: May 31, 2026

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)
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Published on: July 30, 2020

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Published on: September 17, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Perception
  • Haptics

Background:

  • Optical looming is a visual cue for perceiving approaching objects.
  • Haptic perception of distal spatial information is less understood.
  • Understanding haptic analogs can provide insights into general principles of spatial perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate a haptic analog of optical looming.
  • To demonstrate string-mediated haptic distal spatial perception.
  • To explore the role of force and geometric cues in haptic spatial judgment.

Main Methods:

  • Participants perceived spatial information using a weighted string held by their finger between two hooks.
  • Experiments varied contact (direct finger, rod, ring) and tested interrupted contact.
  • Judgments of hook height and impending collinearity were recorded.

Main Results:

  • Participants accurately estimated hook height (r > .9) using the haptic setup.
  • Results were replicated across different contact methods (finger, rod, ring).
  • Perception of impending collinearity was possible even with interrupted contact, with errors predicted by height-force ratios (Rs > .96).

Conclusions:

  • The study demonstrates effective haptic distal spatial perception mediated by a string.
  • Force and geometric cues, analogous to optical looming, are crucial for this perception.
  • Findings support theories of dynamic touch and ecological psychology (e.g., Gibsonian theory).