Propagation Waves in Tactile Material Perception

An Investigation of the Contribution of Proximal Vibratory Cues in Tactile Material Perception'

During the exploration of surfaces with the bare finger, vibratory signals arise and propagate through the finger and hand. While research into mechanical and neural response characteristics has demonstrated that these signals carry rich information about touched objects and their properties, only little is known about the role these propagation waves play in human perception and to which extent the somatosensory system is able to collect information from afferents at more proximal locations than the skin-object surface. Using ring-block anaesthesia (lidocaine) we will temporarily inhibit haptic feedback sensations of healthy participants' index finger during interactions with 3D-printed surface probes that are systematically varied in two important material dimensions, namely their roughness and hardness (elasticity), while the participants carry out a well-established psychophysical discrimination task. The results will then be compared to a control condition without anaesthesia. An accelerometer sensor, placed on the dorsal side of the hand, will serve to simultaneously record the propagating tactile waves. Given their role in material perception, thermal cues will be monitored during the experiment with a thermometer and the hydration level of the fingertip skin will be measured regularly using a corneometer. This research will allow us to understand the role of propagation waves in material perception. It seeks to uncover some of the perceptual mechanisms that remain intact during surface discrimination of textured, compliant surfaces, while local information is temporarily inhibited. The results will have implications for how we provide feedback about material properties for sensorimotor control to this living with prosthetic limbs. It is hypothesised that propagation waves that arise during these haptic interactions contain behaviourally relevant information used for the discrimination of surface properties.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Sensory Processing; Perception; Sense of Touch; Taction
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Lidocaine 2% Injectable Solution

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Karina Driller; Phone Number: +45 30484333; Email: k.k.driller@tudelft.nl
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Nina Mathijssen; Phone Number: +31647208490; Email: N.Mathijssen@rhoc.nl

Study Locations

• Netherlands
  • Zoetermeer, Netherlands, 2725 NA
    • Recruiting
    • Reinier Haga Orthopedic Center
    • Contact: Nina Mathijssen; Phone Number: +31647208490; Email: N.Mathijssen@rhoc.nl

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older;
• No reported psychiatric or neurological disorders;
• Able to provide informed consent;
• Voluntary participation with written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Is pregnant or currently breastfeeding;
• Has a known Lidocaine allergy;
• Is currently undergoing any other medical intervention or taking part in a study involving one;
• Has a history of finger/hand/upper limb trauma or disease;
• Has a disease affecting normal motor functioning.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Healthy human participants; ring-block anaesthesia with lidocaine in one of the two visits	Drug: Lidocaine 2% Injectable Solution; A digital nerve block by injections to the base of the finger

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in discrimination thresholds	The (statistical) difference between psychophysical measures (i.e., difference limen/discrimination thresholds) when the index finger is anaesthetised as compared to non-anaesthetized.	one year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Reinier Haga Orthopedisch Centrum
• Collaborators: Delft University of Technology

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): March 15, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): March 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 2, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 21, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): February 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 23, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 21, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Central Nervous System Depressants; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Sensory System Agents; Anesthetics; Membrane Transport Modulators; Anesthetics, Local; Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers; Sodium Channel Blockers; Lidocaine
• Other Study ID Numbers: NL75084.058.21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No