The Relationship Between Tactile Intensity Perception and Afferent Spike Count is Moderated by a Function of Frequency

It has been suggested that tactile intensity perception can be explained by a linear function of spike rate weighted by afferent type. Other than relying on mathematical models, verifying this experimentally is difficult due to the frequency tuning of different afferent types and changes in population recruitment patterns with vibrotactile frequency. To overcome these complexities, we used pulsatile mechanical stimuli which activate the same afferent population regardless of the repetition rate (frequency), generating one action potential per pulse. We used trains of different frequencies (20–200 Hz) to investigate perceived intensity. Subjects’ magnitude ratings increased with pulse rate up to ∼100 Hz and plateaued beyond this frequency. This was true regardless of pulse amplitude, from small pulses that exclusively activated Pacinian (PC) afferents, to pulses large enough to activate other afferents including slowly adapting. Electrical stimulation, which activates afferents indiscriminately, plateaued at a similar frequency, although not in all subjects. As the plateauing did not depend on indentation magnitude and hence on afferent weights, we propose that the contribution of spike count to intensity perception is weighted by a function of frequency. This may explain why fine textures evoking high frequency vibrations of a small magnitude do not feel disproportionally intense.