title: How to identify water from thickener aqueous solutions by touch.
abstract: Water detection is one of the most crucial psychological processes for many animals. However, nobody knows the perception mechanism of water through our tactile sense. In the present study, we found that a characteristic frictional stimulus with large acceleration is one of the cues to differentiate water from water contaminated with thickener. When subjects applied small amounts of water to a glass plate, strong stick-slip phenomena with a friction force of 0.46 ± 0.30 N and a vertical force of 0.57 ± 0.36 N were observed at the skin surface, as shown in previous studies. Surprisingly, periodic shears with acceleration seven times greater than gravitational acceleration occurred during the application process. Finite-element analyses predicted that these strong stimuli could activate tactile receptors: Meissner's corpuscle and Pacinians. When such stimuli were applied to the fingertips by an ultrasonic vibrator, a water-like tactile texture was perceived by some subjects, even though no liquid was present between the fingertip and the vibrator surface. These findings could potentially be applied in the following areas: materials science, information technology, medical treatment and entertainment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemical Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Japan. nonoy@yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshimune
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nonomura
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asao
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shirado
authors.forename: Yasutoshi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maeno
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D012996:Solutions; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012996:Solutions; D014867:Water
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