Quantitation of Touch-Pressure Sensation

Touch-pressure sensation at regularly spaced points on the index finger and great toe of humans of various ages was measured using a recently developed instrument which allows for exact placement of stylus tip, exact stylus area, and wide range of intensity of stimuli with defined and constant wave form. The threshold of touch-pressure sensation was higher in the toe than in the finger, in the old than in the young, and, in persons over the age of 40 years, in men than in women. If our sampling is sufficient, these differences cannot be explained entirely on the basis of a less-dense distribution of receptors.