Electrocutaneous spatial integration at threshold: the effects of electrode size

Five experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of electrode size on threshold for current pulses that flowed between the ventral and dorsal sides of the right forearm. The main result was that the total current threshold decreases as the size of the cathode and anode increases at least up to 15 mm in diameter. To account for this finding, a neural summation model was proposed, assuming that the central nervous system sums up neural impulses discharged near the conduction paths under electrodes. It was also found that the current flowing from the dorsal to the ventral side provided lower thresholds and more stable localization than the opposite flow of current did. This finding suggested that current threshold and its perceived locus are determined by both the body site on which electrodes were placed and the relative polarity that was assigned to electrodes.