Effect of aging on the subjective magnitude of vibration

Two groups of subjects were tested using the method of Absolute Magnitude Estimation (AME) to determine the effect of age on the subjective intensity of vibration delivered to the skin of the hand. The mean age of the younger group was 23.5 years and that of the older group was 68.6 years. Average thresholds in the older group were higher in both the Pacinian (P) and non-Pacinian channel (NP II). The subjective magnitude of vibration was substantially lower at all intensities in the older group. Individual results clearly showed that the P channel saturates near the detection threshold of the NP II channel.