Therelation oftactile thresholds tohistology inthe fingers ofelderly people

SUMMARY Touchthresholds ina group ofelderly people weredetermined forthree sites on the little finger. Theywerefound toberaised bysome twoanda half times ineachsite, incomparison with a groupofyoung subjects. Anage-associated reduction inthenumberofMeissner corpuscles also was observed, butitissuggested thatthis may reflect a general reduction inperipheral innervation andmay notbenecessarily directly related tothedecrease intactile sensitivity. No significant sexdifferences were foundeither insensorythresholds, or inthepopulation density ofcorpuscles. Thefunction oftheMeissner corpuscle still is notcertain. BruceandSinclair' investigated the sensory thresholds topassive tactile stimulation onthreesites onthelittle finger incomparison tothepopulations ofMeissner corpuscles inthe samethreesites inamputated fingers. No satisfactory relationship wasfound. Because thesubjects usedinthatinvestigation wereallyoungadults, andbecause itisknown thatMeissner corpuscles decrease innumberand alter their morphology asageadvances,2 3Meissnercounts andthreshold values ina groupof elderly people havebeenstudied, using identical procedures tothoseoftheearlier study.