The somatosensory and visual systems adaptation times have a strong positive correlation.

Abstract

CONNIE BURRIS, MARIA MARTINEZ, RAE MOORE, SARAH ZAMZOW, NATALIA OMELCHENKO-COMER, STEM and Business Division, WVNCC, Wheeling, WV, 26003. The somatosensory and visual systems adaptation times have a strong positive correlation.  

Multiple studies demonstrated that all sensory systems adapt their sensitivity levels to improve their responsiveness to changes in corresponding stimulation and to accelerate following CNS processing.  The study aimed to determine if the time of adaptation observed for the somatosensory system correlates with the adaptation time observed for the visual system. The data collection was performed on 2 male and 7 female healthy volunteers (the average age of those was 22.2+/-4.60, 8 right-handed and 1 left-handed) in a seated position. The adaptation time for the somatosensory system was estimated by recording the time of the perception loss after placing a 1 penny coin onto the dorsal hand surface. To evaluate the adaptation time for the visual system the subject was asked to stare at a small pastel color abstract image. The time of the perceived loss for the component of this image was recorded. The average adaptation time for somatosensory perception was 22.0+/-16.15 seconds ranging from 4 to 42 seconds. The average adaptation time for visual perception was 30.7+/-16.04 seconds ranging from 12 to 51 seconds. There was a statistically significant difference between the adaptation time for these modalities of the sensations as determined by paired T-test (t (8) = 3.1, p = .01).  However, the correlation analysis demonstrated a strong positive correlation between values (r (8) = 0.86, p = .003). Our data indicate that the times of somatosensory and visual adaptation are strongly correlated. The finding of this study can be used for the development and improvement of neurobehavioral evaluation tests.