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Neuroreport:
16 April 2002 - Volume 13 - Issue 5 - pp 597-600
Somatosensory Systems, Pain

Enhancing tactile sensation in older adults with electrical noise stimulation

Dhruv, Neel T.; Niemi, James B.; Harry, Jason D.; Lipsitz, Lewis A.; Collins, James J.

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Abstract

Older adults often suffer from diminished somatosensation stemming from age-related neuropathy. Recently, localized low-level electrical noise stimulation was shown to enhance tactile sensitivity in healthy young subjects. Here, we hypothesized that fine-touch sensitivity in older adults can be similarly improved. Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments were used to evaluate fine-touch sensitivity on the first metatarsal phalangeal joint with four electrical stimulus conditions and a null (no-noise) condition in nine healthy elderly subjects. Electrical noise stimulation resulted in a statistically significant increase in the number of detections below the null-condition detection threshold, for five of the nine subjects, as well as across the entire population. This work suggests that electrical noise-based techniques may enable people to overcome functional difficulties due to age-related sensory loss.

© 2002 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

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