Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33177973›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2020

Detection of Simulated Tactile Gratings by Electro-Static Friction Show a Dependency on Bar Width for Blind and Sighted Observers, and Preliminary Neural Correlates in Sighted Observers.

Quoc C Vuong, Aya M Shaaban, Carla Black, Jess Smith, Mahmoud Nassar, Ahmed Abozied, Patrick Degenaar, Walid Al-Atabany

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Quoc C VuongBiosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Aya M ShaabanBiomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt.
Carla BlackBiosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Jess SmithBiosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Mahmoud NassarNewcastle Eye Centre, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Ahmed AboziedElectronics and Communications Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Patrick DegenaarSchool of Engineering, Newcastle University, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Walid Al-AtabanyBiomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt.
Newcastle University · GBHelwan University · EGCairo University · EGMinia University Hospital · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The three-dimensional micro-structure of physical surfaces produces frictional forces that provide sensory cues about properties of felt surfaces such as roughness. This tactile information activates somatosensory cortices, and frontal and temporal brain regions. Recent advances in haptic-feedback technologies allow the simulation of surface micro-structures via electro-static friction to produce touch sensations on otherwise flat screens. These sensations may benefit those with visual impairment or blindness. The primary aim of the current study was to test blind and sighted participants' perceptual sensitivity to simulated tactile gratings. A secondary aim was to explore which brain regions were involved in simulated touch to further understand the somatosensory brain network for touch. We used a haptic-feedback touchscreen which simulated tactile gratings using digitally manipulated electro-static friction. In Experiment 1, we compared blind and sighted participants' ability to detect the gratings by touch alone as a function of their spatial frequency (bar width) and intensity. Both blind and sighted participants showed high sensitivity to detect simulated tactile gratings, and their tactile sensitivity functions showed both linear and quadratic dependency on spatial frequency. In Experiment 2, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we conducted a preliminary investigation to explore whether brain activation to physical vibrations correlated with blindfolded (but sighted) participants' performance with simulated tactile gratings outside the scanner. At the neural level, blindfolded (but sighted) participants' detection performance correlated with brain activation in bi-lateral supplementary motor cortex, left frontal cortex and right occipital cortex. Taken together with previous studies, these results suggest that there are similar perceptual and neural mechanisms for real and simulated touch sensations.

Indexed as

blind and sighted participantsfMRIhaptic-feedback technologysomatosensory brain networktactile perception

Identifiers

PMID33177973
PMCPMC7591789
OpenAlexW3092906352

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.