Quantitation of motion perception in the digits: a psychophysical study in normal human subjects

Threshold perception of motion of the digits was obtained in 14 normal subjects. The metacarpophalangeal joint of the index and the fifth finger of each hand and the metatarsophalangeal joint of the hallux of each foot were passively moved up and down with respect to a horizontal plane defined by the palmar or plantar surface. The motion was sinusoidal at frequencies of 0.5 and 5.0 Hz. A mpdified von Békésy paradigm similar to that used in audiometry was utilized to yield threshold levels of motion sensation. There was little difference in the thresholds obtained for the different joints. The difference between high- and low-frequency stimulation, however, was significant (p less than 0.001): the 0.5 Hz threshold was found to range from 0.8 to 1.0 degree, whereas the 5.0 Hz threshold varied from 0.4 to 0.6 degree. It is thought that motion sense is largely dependent on joint receptor contributions, but muscle and cutaneous receptors may also contribute to this proprioceptive sensation.