Name: ________________

Class: _____ Date: ______

Nervous System Lab: Testing Sensory Receptors for

Touch
INTRODUCTION:

The peripheral nervous system is divided into the sensory and motor nervous
systems. The sensory division of the nervous system is responsible for receiving
messages from your sensory organs and sending that information to the central
nervous system. The sensory organs contain different types of sensory receptors that
respond to different types of stimuli. For example, the eye contains photoreceptors
that respond to light stimuli. The mouth, nose, and blood vessels contain
chemoreceptors that respond to different chemical stimuli. This is how we are able
to detect different tastes and smells. Other types of sensory receptors are found in the
skin.

Your skin is the boundary between your body and the physical world that surrounds
you. So, it probably is not surprising that your skin contains many different sensory
receptors. Some of those receptors detect changes in temperature; these are called
thermoreceptors. Others respond to tissue injury or damage throughout the body;
these are called pain receptors. Still others are mechanoreceptors that respond
when you touch an object or when an object touches you. These mechanoreceptors
respond to touch, pressure, vibrations, and stretch stimuli; they are found not only in
the skin, but also in hair follicles, ears, ligaments, and tendons. The receptors for
touch are more concentrated in some areas of your skin and less concentrated in
other areas of your skin.

In this lab, you will do a two-point threshold test. You will use a bent paper clip to infer
the relative concentration, or density, of receptors for touch in three different areas of
your skin. When the density is high, you should be able to sense two touches that are
close together. When the density is low, it will be harder to distinguish two touches
that are close together. You may feel this as one touch when it is really two.

Figure 1.

Figure 3.

Figure 2.
MATERIALS:

Bent paper clip

Scissors
Metric Ruler

SAFETY:

The ends of the paper clip will be sharp. Use only gentle pressure on the skin. Each
student should use a different paper clip.

PROCEDURE:

1. Find a partner.
2. Cut the paper clip as instructed.

3. Practice gently touching the ends of your paper clip to your arm. Notice the
difference in the sensation when you use both ends of the clip and when you
use only one end. CAUTION: Do not apply enough pressure to break the skin.

4. Squeeze your partners paper clip until the ends are 2 cm apart. Then use Steps
3-5 to test the skin on the back of your partners hand. Choose an area in the
center of your partners hand.

5. Make sure your partners eyes are closed. Touch the paper clip to the back of
your partners hand 10 times 5 times with two ends and 5 times with one end.
Mix up the two-end touches and the one-end touches so that your partner will
not recognize a pattern. After each touch, ask your partner whether he/she felt
one end or two ends. Record the responses in Data Table 1.

6. Decrease the distance between the ends of the paper clip to 1.5 cm and repeat
step 5. Record the responses in Data Table 1.

7. Repeat step 6 with distances of 1 cm, 0.5 cm, and 0.3 cm.

8. Use the same procedure in steps 4-6 to test the skin on your partners index
finger. Record the responses in Data Table 2.

9. Use the same procedure in steps 4-6 to test the skin on your partners forearm.
Choose a location that is halfway between the wrist and the elbow. Record the
responses in Data Table 3.

PRE-LAB QUESTIONS:
 1. Who is your partner?
2. Why must you have your eyes closed while your partner touches your skin with
the paper clip?
3. Which area (back of hand, fingertips, or forearm) will have the highest density of
receptors?
4. Which area (back of hand, fingertips, or forearm) will have the lowest density of
receptors?
5. Will you and your partner have the same density of touch receptors in a
particular area of skin? Why do you think this?

DATA AND OBSERVATIONS:

Data Table 1: Back of Hand

2.0 cm 1.5 cm 1.0 cm 0.5 cm 0.3 cm

Touc Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends
h Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt

10

Data Table 2: Fingertip

2.0 cm 1.5 cm 1.0 cm 0.5 cm 0.3 cm

Touc Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends
 h Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt

10

Data Table 3: Forearm

2.0 cm 1.5 cm 1.0 cm 0.5 cm 0.3 cm

Touc Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends Ends
h Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt Used Felt

10

POST-LAB QUESTIONS
* * Remember that these questions are just a guideline for some of the things to
include in your Results and Conclusion section. You should answer all of these
questions somewhere in your paragraph, but you should also include a complete
analysis of your results, an evaluation of your hypothesis, and a discussion of errors in
the experiment. **

1. What was the shortest distance at which your partner could correctly feel the two
ends of the paperclip?

Back of hand: _________ Fingertips: _________ Forearm: _________

2. What was the shortest distance at which you could correctly feel the two ends of
the paperclip?

Back of hand: _________ Fingertips: _________ Forearm: _________

3. Do your results support your hypothesis? Explain.

4. Why do you think humans have a higher density of touch receptors in some areas
of the skin?

5. Do your results support the prediction you made in pre-lab question #5? Explain.

6. What factors could explain the variation in touch receptor sensitivity in different
people?

7. How might activities like playing the guitar, preparing food, or playing video games
affect a persons sensitivity to touch?

8. The phrase thick-skinned is used to describe people who are not easily affected
by other peoples criticisms. Relate this meaning of thick-skinned to how areas of
thick skin could affect a persons sense of touch.