The effects of duration and frequency on the perception of vibrotactile stimulation on the neck

The aim of this current study is to determine whether the neck is a viable location to receive tactile directional information to substitute a vestibular loss. While wearing a vibrotactile neck device with 14 motors equally positioned around the neck, participants were asked to detect the exact location of the delivered stimulus delivered. The results show that the front of the neck may not be as sensitive as the remaining areas, and that the frequency and duration of vibrotactile stimulation do not significantly impact performance. Although participants could not accurately identify the exact points of neck stimulation, they were able to accurately identify the area nearby (one motor to the left or the right of the exact stimulus location).