Latest Somatosensory system Stories

[ Watch the Video] A new app developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University helps visually impaired students with math problems. The new Android tablet app assists students in algebra, geometry, graphing and other subjects that are hard to comprehend without having normal vision. Jenna Gorlewicz, a graduate student in the Medical and Electromechanical Design Laboratory (MED Lab) at Vanderbilt University, and her adviser Robert Webster, an assistant professor of mechanical...

MDC researchers identify new function of a well-known gene A gene known to control lens development in mice and humans is also crucial for the development of neurons responsible for mechanosensory function, as neurobiologists of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now discovered. They found that in mice in which they had removed the c-Maf gene in the nerve cells, touch sensation is impaired. This similarly applies to human carriers of a mutant c-Maf gene....

U-M study finds noise exposure can cause long-lasting changes to sensory pathways; touch-sensing nerve cells may be the gateway to future tinnitus treatments We all know that it can take a little while for our hearing to bounce back after listening to our iPods too loud or attending a raucous concert. But new research at the University of Michigan Health System suggests over-exposure to noise can actually cause more lasting changes to our auditory circuitry – changes that may lead to...

Compared to our other senses, scientists don't know much about how our skin is wired for the sensation of touch. Now, research reported in the December 23rd issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, provides the first picture of how specialized neurons feel light touches, like a brush of movement or a vibration, are organized in hairy skin. Looking at these neurons in the hairy skin of mice, the researchers observed remarkably orderly patterns, suggesting that each type of hair...

People with a certain form of inherited hearing loss have increased sensitivity to low frequency vibration, according to a study by Professor Thomas Jentsch of the Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP)/Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Professor Gary Lewin (MDC), conducted in cooperation with clinicians from Madrid, Spain and Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The research findings, which were published in Nature Neuroscience...

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed a new way to generate music and control computers. "Grab a block and add a base beat, turn a block to speed up the high hat and we have a new way to generate music through controlling the computer," said Dr Enrico Costanza at the University's ECS - Electronics and Computer Science, who is launching Audio d-touch (Thursday 25 August). Audio d-touch, which is based on Dr Costanza's research into tangible user interfaces, or TUIs,...

Research has shown that sight, balance, and hearing in humans can be enhanced with the application of "white noise", or minute, random interference in the senses and this applies to the sense of touch as well. A special glove has been developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology which is designed to improve the wearer's sense of touch by applying a small vibration to the side of the fingertip. This improves the tactile sensitivity and motor performance, according to their...

A new research study conducted by University of Miami Frost School of Music's Music Engineering Technology Group touches upon multi-touch surfaces as emerging valuable tools for collaboration, display, interaction, and musical expression. The study will be presented at the 2011 International Conference on New Instruments for Musical Expression in Oslo, Norway this month.A Low-Cost, Low-Latency Multi-Touch Table with Haptic Feedback for Musical Applications, authored by Matthew Montag GMuE '11...

"Perhaps when we get hurt, we should not only "˜rub it better' but also cross our arms," said Dr. Giandomenico Iannetti, the lead author of a study at the University College London.The study, published in the journal PAIN, details how scientists used a laser to generate a four millisecond pin prick of "pure pain" "“ which is pain without touch "“ on the hands of a small group of eight participants, which was repeated with the arms crossed over the midline "“ an imaginary line running...

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers have captured pictures of the brain while patients experienced a pain stimulus with and without acupuncture to determine acupuncture's effect on how the brain processes pain. Results of the study, which the researchers say suggest the effectiveness of acupuncture, were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)."Until now, the role of acupuncture in the perception and processing...