Article

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect that electric pulse frequency has on the
perceived magnitude of sensation and to quantify the relationship between
electric pulse frequency and perceived magnitude of sensation during
low-intensity electrocutaneous stimulation. DESIGN: A repeated-measures research
design was applied to evaluate the effect of electric pulse frequency on the
perceived magnitude of electrocutaneous stimulation. SETTING: Electrocutaneous
agents laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: University students (N=26) with normal hearing
and normal sensation were recruited for the study. INTERVENTIONS:
Electrocutaneous stimulation was applied to the forearm at 10 electric pulse
frequencies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A cross-modality matching procedure was used
in which stimulation intensity was matched with the level of loudness. Pairwise
comparisons with 2 degrees of freedom at a power of 80% was performed.
Statistical significance was set at P equal to .05.
RESULTS: Electric pulse
frequency had a significant effect on the perceived magnitude of sensation, with
the perceived sensation growing between 0 and 120Hz (F=36.02; P<.001). The
relationship between the 2 variables was strong (r(2)=.99;
P<.01). CONCLUSIONS:
Increasing the electric pulse frequency of electrocutaneous stimulation increases
the perceived magnitude of the resulting sensation. This has implications for the
use of electrocutaneous stimulation for both analgesia and muscle stimulation.

Langue : ANGLAIS