Vibrotactile temporal summation: effect of frequency.

Abstract

Temporal summation of vibrotactile stimuli was measured at four frequencies (25, 40, 80, and 160 Hz) using a large contactor. Stimulation at 160 Hz gave temporal summation comparable in amount to that reported in previous studies. Stimulation at 25, 40, and 80 Hz gave less summation. The presence of summation at low frequencies is unexpected in view of existing data obtained with small contactors' those data indicate that the afferent system primarily sensitive to low frequencies may not summate stimulus energy over time. The present data suggest either that the low-frequency afferents do summate energy over time or that, under some conditions, the perception of low-frequency signals presented through a large contactor may be mediated by more than one afferent system.