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| Two Point Discrimination Test |
On to the somatosensory system! The monks and I talked about the different
types of sensory receptors in the skin and how they respond to different types
of stimuli. I cut a paper plate into
several small pieces for each group and asked them to use their fingers flip
the pieces so that the smooth side was up.
The monks tried the experiment by moving their fingers over the plate
and by just touching the plate to their fingers. Most of the monks found that moving the plate over their fingers made it easier to identify the texture.
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| Two Point Discrimination Test |
We also discussed how the density of receptors in the skin
is mapped to the cerebral cortex. For
example, the fingers and face have a high density of receptors and the cortex
has a large amount of tissue devoted to these areas of the body. We drew a homunculus to show what a person
would look like if they were built according to how much sensory cortex was devoted to
particular body parts.
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| Two Point Discrimination Test |
Finally, the monks “mapped” each other’s skin sensitivity
using two point discrimination testers.
They used rubber bands to attach two toothpicks to a ruler. This two point discriminator tester was
touched to different parts of the skin of their subject to determine when it
felt like one point contacted their skin rather than two points. The monks could see that the face and fingers required the
toothpicks to be much closer together than the back or calf.
Taste and smell are up next!
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