Learning not to feel: reshaping the resolution of tactile perception

摘要: We asked whether biased feedback during training could cause human subjects to lose perceptual acuity in a vibrotactile frequency discrimination task. Prior training, we determined each subject’s vibration capacity on one fingertip, the Just Noticeable Difference (JND). Subjects then received 850 trials which they performed same/different judgment two vibrations presented that fingertip. They gained points whenever their matched computer-generated trial. Feedback, however, was biased: probability per trial of “same” drawn from normal distribution with standard deviation twice as wide JND. After JND significantly widened: stimulus pairs previously perceived different were now same. The widening extended untrained hand, indicating decrease resolution originated non-topographic brain regions. In sum, subjects’ sensory-perceptual systems shifted order match training.