Data associated with "Lingual electrotactile discrimination ability is associated with the presence of specific connective tissue structures (papillae) on the tongue surface"
Date
2020
Authors
Allison, Tyler S.
Moritz, Joel, Jr.
Turk, Philip
Stone-Roy, Leslie M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Electrical stimulation of nerve endings in the tongue can be used to communicate information to users and has been shown to be highly effective in sensory substitution applications. The anterior tip of the tongue has very small somatosensory receptive fields, comparable to those of the fingertips, allowing for precise two-point discrimination and high tactile sensitivity. However, perception of electrotactile stimuli varies significantly between users, and across the tongue surface. Despite this, previous studies all used uniform electrode grids to stimulate a region of the dorsal-medial tongue surface. In an effort to customize electrode layouts for individual users, and thus improve efficacy for sensory substitution applications, we investigated whether specific neuroanatomical and physiological features of the tongue are associated with enhanced ability to perceive active electrodes. Specifically, the study described here was designed to test whether fungiform papillae density and/or propylthiouracil sensitivity are positively or negatively associated with perceived intensity and/or discrimination ability for lingual electrotactile stimuli. Fungiform papillae number and distribution were determined for 15 participants and they were exposed to patterns of electrotactile stimulation (ETS) and asked to report perceived intensity and perceived number of stimuli. Fungiform papillae number and distribution were then compared to ETS characteristics using comprehensive and rigorous statistical analyses. Our results indicate that fungiform papillae density is correlated with enhanced discrimination ability for electrical stimuli. In contrast, papillae density, on average, is not correlated with perceived intensity of active electrodes. However, results for at least one participant suggest that further research is warranted. Our data indicate that propylthiouracil taster status is not related to ETS perceived intensity or discrimination ability. These data indicate that individuals with higher fungiform papillae number and density in the anterior medial tongue region may be better able to use lingual ETS for sensory substitution.
Description
The dataset contains numerical data summarizing the number of fungiform papillae in specific regions of the tongue along with perceived intensity and discrimination of electrodes spaced at different distances. The purpose of the study was to determine whether fungiform papillae distribution and/or density is related to an individual’s perception of active electrodes on a tongue stimulation device.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Department of Biomedical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Rights Access
Subject
tongue
fungiform papillae
electrotactile
perception
two-point discrimination
human
Citation
Associated Publications
Allison, T.S., Moritz, J., Jr, Turk, P., Stone-Roy, L.M. (2020) Lingual electrotactile discrimination ability is associated with the presence of specific connective tissue structures (papillae) on the tongue surface. PLoS ONE 15(8): e0237142. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237142