Fig. 1.

Schematic demonstrating the computational stimulation paradigm to represent three features of the neurophysiological response: stimulus magnitude, rate, and spatial detail. A pressure-to-stress transformation is depicted in this example. A: when a ramp-and-hold force is applied at the rigid tip of 0.5 mm radius, it generates a distributed pressure on the skin surface, thus creating interior stresses near the end organs of slowly adapting type I (SAI) afferents. The interaction of the stimulus in the skin is defined in terms of distributed pressure as opposed to reaction force at the rigid tip. B: considering just the center end organ of the five shown, the spike timings predicted during the static hold of the stimulus tie to the magnitude of interior stress, whereas the spikes predicted during the dynamic ramp tie to the rate of interior stress. C: considering three end organs enclosed in boxes, the end organ beneath the indenter's edge would respond at a higher frequency because of a greater magnitude of interior stress at that location compared with locations not directly beneath the edge or beneath the indenter.