Abstract
Practice-related improvement in visual perception is highly specific for properties of the stimulus used in training. We explored the specificity of such perceptual learning in the human tactile system, using gratings consisting of alternating ridges and grooves. Practice effects on grating discrimination showed limited transfer between grating sets defined by spatial variation in either groove width or ridge width, consistent with partially overlapping neural representations of these two spatial parameters. In contrast, substantial interdigital transfer of practice effects occurred for discrimination of gratings varying in either spatial parameter and also for spatial acuity-dependent discrimination of grating orientation. We conclude that tactile learning, although quite as task specific as in other sensory systems, generalizes with considerable facility across fingers, unlike visual learning, which is highly location specific.
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Our findings were reported at the 25th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego (Sathian & Zangaladze, 1995). This work was supported in part by a grant from the NINDS (1R29NS34111) to K.S. A.Z. is supported by the Campbell Foundation. Yashpal Matharu wrote software used to generate artwork for gratings. Photographic support was provided by Emory University’s Medical Illustration Unit. Gratings were photo-etched at Flexocraft, Inc., College Park, GA. Dale Rice and Omar Wadi of the Medical Engineering Unit at Emory Hospital provided machining support to cut the gratings and make the holding plates.
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Sathian, K., Zangaladze, A. Tactile learning is task specific but transfers between fingers. Perception & Psychophysics 59, 119–128 (1997). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206854
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206854