Abstract
The perceptual thresholds for vibratory stimuli (PTV) have been determined in 56 normal subjects, 18 to 87 years old, on the styloid process of the radius and on the internal malleolus on both sides of the body, at vibration frequencies from 30 to 600 cps, and in the ascending and descending modes. PTV has the same frequency response as found in neurophysiological recordings from Pacinian corpuscles. PTV increases differently with age at the upper and lower extremities. This difference is attributed to a progressive loss of information transmission along the afferent spinal pathways with increasing age. PTV increases more with age on the preferred than on the non-preferred side of the body, which may reflect non-specific changes in the distribution of attention with age. PTV is higher when it is measured in the ascending than descending mode, but this difference does not seem to be affected by age.