Abstract
Touch generated by our voluntary movements is attenuated both at the perceptual and neural level compared to touch of the same intensity delivered to our body by another person or machine. This somatosensory attenuation phenomenon is considered to rely on the integration of somatosensory input and predictions about the somatosensory consequences of our actions. Previous studies have reported increased somatosensory attenuation in elderly people, proposing an overreliance on sensorimotor predictions to compensate for age-related declines in somatosensory perception; however, recent results have challenged this relationship. In a preregistered study, we used a force-discrimination task to assess whether aging increases somatosensory attenuation and whether this increase is explained by decreased somatosensory precision in elderly individuals. Although we observed significant somatosensory attenuation in 94% of our sample (n = 108, 21–77 years old) regardless of age, we did not find a significant increase in somatosensory attenuation in our elderly participants (65–77 years old) unless we included only the oldest subset (69–77 years old). Moreover, we did not observe a significant age-related decline in somatosensory precision or a significant relationship of age with somatosensory attenuation. Together, our results suggest that aging exerts a limited influence on the perception of self-generated and externally generated touch and prompt reconsideration of the proposed direct relationship between somatosensory precision and attenuation in elderly individuals.
New and Noteworthy Self-generated touch is attenuated compared to externally generated touch of identical intensity. This somatosensory attenuation has been previously shown to be increased in elderly participants, but it remains unclear whether it is related to age-related somatosensory decline. In our preregistered study, we observed increased somatosensory attenuation in the oldest subset of participants (≥69 years), but we found no evidence of an age-related decline in somatosensory function or a relationship of age with somatosensory attenuation. We propose that aging exerts a limited influence on the perception of self-generated and externally generated touch.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
