Objective: To explore the effects of tactile stimulation using air pressure at the auricular branch of the vagus nerve on autonomic activity in healthy individuals.
Methods: Three types of tactile stimulation were used in this study: continuous low-amplitude, continuous high-amplitude, and pulsed airflow. The tactile stimulations were provided to the cymba concha to investigate autonomic activity in 22 healthy participants. The mean heart rate (HR) and parameters of HR variability, including the standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN) and root mean square of successive R-R interval differences (RMSSD) were compared at baseline, stimulation, and recovery periods.
Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant main effect of time on HR (p=0.001), SDNN (p=0.003), and RMSSD (p<0.001). These parameters showed significant differences between baseline and stimulation periods and baseline and recovery periods in the post-hoc analyses. There were no significant differences in the changes induced by stimulation type and the interaction between time and stimulation type for all parameters. One-way repeated measures ANOVA showed that HR, SDNN, and RMSSD did not differ significantly among the three time periods during sham stimulation.
Conclusion: Parasympathetic activity can be enhanced by auricular tactile stimulation using air pressure, targeting the cymba concha. Further studies are warranted to investigate the optimal stimulation parameters for potential clinical significance.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.5535/arm.22119 | DOI Listing |
Sensors (Basel)
December 2024
School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Traditional tactile brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), particularly those based on steady-state somatosensory-evoked potentials, face challenges such as lower accuracy, reduced bit rates, and the need for spatially distant stimulation points. In contrast, using transient electrical stimuli offers a promising alternative for generating tactile BCI control signals: somatosensory event-related potentials (sERPs). This study aimed to optimize the performance of a novel electrotactile BCI by employing advanced feature extraction and machine learning techniques on sERP signals for the classification of users' selective tactile attention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioengineering (Basel)
December 2024
School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-Ro, Dongjak District, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea.
This pilot study explored how muscle activation influences the pattern recognition of tactile cues delivered using electrical stimulation (ES) during each 10% window interval of the normal walking gait cycle (GC). Three healthy adults participated in the experiment. After identifying the appropriate threshold, ES as the haptic cue was applied to the gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) and biceps brachii (BB) of participants walking on a treadmill.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
EMG feedback improves force control of a myoelectric hand prosthesis by conveying the magnitude of the myoelectric signal back to the users via tactile stimulation. The present study aimed to test if this method can be used by a participant with a high-level amputation, and whose muscle used for prosthesis control (pectoralis major) was not intuitively related to hand function. Vibrotactile feedback was delivered to the participant's torso, while the control was tested using EMG from three different muscles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Sports Act Living
December 2024
Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Previous research has demonstrated that postural stability may be improved by increasing stimulation to the somatosensory system. Wearing lower limb compression garments or textured in-soles have been found to be effective short-term methods for improving postural stability, hypothesized to be due to enhanced tactile feedback. The aim of this study was to assess whether a combined compression-tactile sock increases postural stability in healthy adults, compared to barefoot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIperception
December 2024
Department of Integrative Physiology, School of Medicine, Kyorin University, Tokyo, Japan.
In the rubber hand illusion (RHI), individuals perceive a fake hand as their own if an unseen hand and a visible fake hand are stroked simultaneously. We examined how the RHI on either hand influenced the temporal order judgment (TOJ) of bimanual stimulation. In Experiment 1, participants performed TOJ during RHI or non-RHI conditions.
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