Tactile tuning after object manipulation with unreliable tactile feedback

Sensory systems are adaptable to change. For instance, in the visual system, this is reflected in enhanced sensitivity of an eye that was visually deprived or had received unreliable information. But does that also apply to the tactile sensory system? We  hypothesized that providing unreliable somatosensory information on the one hand leads to enhanced tactile perception. Participants performed a brief tactile discrimination task during which stimuli were presented on their index fingers, with the left finger receiving a reference stimulus. Following this baseline measure, participants performed a 60-minute intervention, during which they performed building tasks with small blocks only using their right hand while wearing a thick glove. Their left hand did not participate in the task. Right after the intervention, we re-tested tactile sensitivity. Our data showed enhanced tactile sensitivity on the right hand during the first four minutes after the intervention, an effect that vanished afterward. These findings suggest that the human tactile system shows a degree of adaptability.