Rupani, M., Cleland, L.D. orcid.org/0000-0001-8486-2780 and Saal, H.P. orcid.org/0000-0002-7544-0196 (2025) Local postural changes elicit extensive and diverse skin stretch around joints, on the trunk and the face. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 22 (223). 20240794. ISSN 1742-5689
Abstract
Skin stretch, induced by bodily movements, offers a potential source of information about the conformation of the body that can be transmitted to the brain via stretch-sensitive mechanoreceptive neurons. While previous studies have primarily focused on skin stretch directly at joints, here we investigate the extent and complexity of natural skin stretch across various body regions, including the face and trunk. We used a quad-camera set-up to image large ink-based speckle patterns stamped on participants’ skin and calculated the resulting stretch patterns on a millimetre scale during a range of natural poses. We observed that skin stretch associated with joint movement extends far beyond the joint itself, with knee flexion inducing stretch on the upper thigh. Large and uniform stretch patterns were found across the trunk, covering considerable portions of the skin. The face exhibited highly complex and non-uniform stretch patterns, potentially contributing to our capacity to control fine facial movements in the absence of traditional proprioceptors. Importantly, all regions demonstrated skin stretch in excess of mechanoreceptive thresholds, suggesting that behaviourally relevant skin stretch can occur anywhere on the body. These signals might provide the brain with valuable information about body state and conformation, potentially supplementing or even surpassing the capabilities of traditional proprioception.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Keywords: | skin mechanics; proprioception; mechanoreception; body posture |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number LEVERHULME TRUST (THE) RPG-2022-031 Medical Research Council 2441839 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2025 17:04 |
Last Modified: | 24 Feb 2025 11:06 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1098/rsif.2024.0794 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223533 |