Vibrotactile Perception for Sensorimotor Augmentation: Perceptual Discrimination of Vibrotactile Stimuli Induced by Low-Cost Eccentric Rotating Mass Motors at Different Body Locations in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults.

The study was conducted on neurologically intact individuals, so findings may not directly apply to patients with proprioceptive deficits (e.g., stroke survivors) who are the intended users of such technology. Sample sizes were unequal across age groups, with fewer middle-aged participants in Experiment 1. The study used low-cost motors where frequency and amplitude are coupled, which may differ from devices that allow independent control of these parameters. Experiment 1 may have been underpowered to detect differences between sequential and simultaneous presentation, as this effect was only confirmed in Experiment 2.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Do not assume that older adults have a fixed, irreversible deficit in vibrotactile perception. The study found that age-related differences in discrimination acuity disappeared after just three days of practice, suggesting that initial poor performance is a training effect, not a permanent sensory loss.