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An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law

Weber’s Law describes the relationship between actual and perceived differences in stimulus intensity. To observe the relationship described in this law, we developed an exercise for undergraduate students, as experiential learning is an integral part of scientific education. We describe the experim...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Holden, Jameson K., Francisco, Eric M., Zhang, Zheng, Baric, Cristina, Tommerdahl, Mark
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592720/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23493843
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author Holden, Jameson K.
Francisco, Eric M.
Zhang, Zheng
Baric, Cristina
Tommerdahl, Mark
author_facet Holden, Jameson K.
Francisco, Eric M.
Zhang, Zheng
Baric, Cristina
Tommerdahl, Mark
author_sort Holden, Jameson K.
collection PubMed
description Weber’s Law describes the relationship between actual and perceived differences in stimulus intensity. To observe the relationship described in this law, we developed an exercise for undergraduate students, as experiential learning is an integral part of scientific education. We describe the experimental methods used for determining the subject’s discriminative capacity at multiple vibrotactile amplitudes. A novel four-point stimulator (designed and fabricated at the University of North Carolina) was used for the study. Features of the device, such as automated skin detection, make it feasible to perform this laboratory exercise in a reasonable lab period. At the conclusion of the lab exercise, students will thoroughly understand the principle of Weber’s Law as well as fundamental quantitative sensory testing concepts. This introduction to sensory testing will provide a suitable foundation for the undergraduate neuroscience student to investigate other aspects of sensory information processing in subsequent lab exercises.
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spelling pubmed-35927202013-03-14 An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law Holden, Jameson K. Francisco, Eric M. Zhang, Zheng Baric, Cristina Tommerdahl, Mark J Undergrad Neurosci Educ Article Weber’s Law describes the relationship between actual and perceived differences in stimulus intensity. To observe the relationship described in this law, we developed an exercise for undergraduate students, as experiential learning is an integral part of scientific education. We describe the experimental methods used for determining the subject’s discriminative capacity at multiple vibrotactile amplitudes. A novel four-point stimulator (designed and fabricated at the University of North Carolina) was used for the study. Features of the device, such as automated skin detection, make it feasible to perform this laboratory exercise in a reasonable lab period. At the conclusion of the lab exercise, students will thoroughly understand the principle of Weber’s Law as well as fundamental quantitative sensory testing concepts. This introduction to sensory testing will provide a suitable foundation for the undergraduate neuroscience student to investigate other aspects of sensory information processing in subsequent lab exercises. Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience 2011-03-15 /pmc/articles/PMC3592720/ /pubmed/23493843 Text en Copyright © 2011 Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience
spellingShingle Article
Holden, Jameson K.
Francisco, Eric M.
Zhang, Zheng
Baric, Cristina
Tommerdahl, Mark
An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law
title An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law
title_full An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law
title_fullStr An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law
title_full_unstemmed An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law
title_short An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise to Study Weber’s Law
title_sort undergraduate laboratory exercise to study weber’s law
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592720/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23493843
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