Physiological and Psychological Parameters of Human Touch Page: 17
vi, 103 leaves : ill.View a full description of this dissertation.
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17
receptors per 100 square millimeters and from 7 to 135
tactile points per square centimeter (Montagu, 1986). It is
astonishing that the skin of one hand alone contains
approximately 17,000 sensory units that are sensitive to
nonnoxious mechanical deformation (Vallbo, 1987). The skin
also contains receptors that are sensitive to other
potential attributes of touch, such as roughness, warmth,
cold, pressure, size, location, and weight.
The sensitivity of touch varies significantly depending
on the body area examined, partly due to the fact that the
skin varies in thickness from 1/10 of a millimeter to 3-4
millimeters. As measured by the von Frey esthesiometer, the
absolute threshold for touch sensations is largest on the
lower extremities, especially the sole of the foot and the
big toe, and smallest on the face, especially on the nose
(Kenshalo, 1978). Research cited by Kenshalo (1978) found
that females demonstrated a marked increase in touch
sensitivity at approximately five years of age while males
did not demonstrate this increase until about eleven years
of age. Also, females were found to be slightly more
sensitive to touch than males at all ages, and the
nondominant side was slightly more sensitive than the
dominant side.
The epidermal layer of the skin, the most superficial
layer, produces a substance which is indistinguishable when
observed immunochemically from the hormone thymopoietin
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Kohl, Rita Ann. Physiological and Psychological Parameters of Human Touch, dissertation, August 1992; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332744/m1/24/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .