Sensations evoked from the glabrous skin of the human hand by electrical stimulation of unitary mechanosensitive afferents.

A needle microelectrode in the median nerve was used to record impulses from tactile afferent units and to deliver trains of electrical pulses for microstimulation. The findings suggest that the activation of single SA I units produces a sensation of light pressure within a small area located within the receptive field of the unit whereas the activation of RA units seemed to elicit sensations of varying qualities: touch, vibration, and tickle.