Tactile extinction to simple (elementary) and complex stimuli.
Thirty patients with cerebrovascular disease and 85 control subjects were examined using both the classical tactile extinction test and a modified Quality Extinction Test (modified QET) in order to investigate the so-called tactile extinction phenomenon to complex stimuli from the qualitative standpoint. As a result, 1) the patients with tactile extinction to simple (elementary) stimuli also manifested extinction to complex tactile stimuli in the modified QET; 2) there were patients who exhibited extinction only to complex tactile stimuli. Our results provide support for the concept that the so-called tactile extinction phenomenon could result from competition between tactile stimuli presented to both hands at at least 2 different levels of tactile processing, i.e. the process of perception and the process of recognition. When discussing the phenomenon of extinction to complex tactile stimuli, therefore, one should consider these 2 forms of extinction separately.
Ito
K
K
Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Osaka University, Japan.
Tanabe
H
H
Ikejiri
Y
Y
Okuda
J
J
Sawada
T
T
Shiraishi
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*