Lingual vibrotactile sensation magnitudes: comparison of suprathreshold responses for the tongue and hand.

The psychophysical method of magnitude production was used to obtain suprathreshold vibratory sensation magnitude functions from a group of ten young adult subjects. The test frequency was 250 Hz, and the body sites tested were the anterior midline section of the dorsum of the tongue, the thenar eminence of the right hand, and the distal pad of the middle finger of the right hand. Results showed that the mechanoreceptive mechanisms located within these three body locations can produce suprathreshold magnitude functions that are compatible with each other as well as with those described in the literature.