PERIPHERAL MECHANISMS OF TOUCH AND PROPRIOCEPTION

The basic sensory mechanisms involved in transducing information concerning the spatial properties of objects and the movements and forces generated by the hand are briefly reviewed. The contribution of different cutaneous mechanoreceptors to the processing of spatial information is discussed in the context of psychophysical and neurophysiological studies of the tactile sensory system. The specialization of the hand with respect to the sensory mechanisms that contribute to our awareness of finger position, movement, and force is reviewed, and experimental evidence indicating the critical role played by muscle spindle receptors in proprioception is described.