title: Relationship between the changes in blood flow and volume in the finger during a Braille character discrimination task.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We hypothesized that skin blood flow (SBF) of fingers are modulated during concentrated finger perception and that the changes in SBF reflect fluctuations in finger volume (FV). The aim of this study, therefore, was examine the relationship between the changes in SBF and FV during Braille reading.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured SBF of the finger, cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC), FV, and arterial blood pressure during Braille reading performed under blind conditions in thirty healthy subjects. The subjects were instructed to read a flat plate with raised letters (Braille reading) for 15 seconds using their forefinger, and to touch a blank plate as a control for the Braille discrimination procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Arterial blood pressure slightly increased during Braille reading but remained unchanged during the touching of the blank plate. SBF, CVC, and FV were reduced during Braille reading (decreased by -26%, -29%, and -0.3 mL/100 mL respectively). Furthermore, a significant relationship was observed between the changes in SBF and FV (r=.613) during Braille reading.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggested that SBF of fingers is modulated during concentrated finger perception, and that the variability of blood flow reflects the response in FV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8787-6213
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.affiliation: Course of Physical Therapy, Department of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.affiliation: Course of Rehabilitation, Department of Health Sciences, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soma
authors.affiliation: Course of Rehabilitation, Department of Health Sciences, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakae
authors.affiliation: Course of Rehabilitation, Department of Health Sciences, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kogo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Umeki
mesh_terms: D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001810:Blood Volume / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D011932:Reading; D012682:Sensory Aids; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology
keywords: discrimination task; healthy humans; impedance plethysmography; skin blood flow