Sub-Threshold Stochastic Vibration Improves Fingertip Tactile Sensitivity in Stroke Survivors and Healthy Adults, with Source-Localized EEG Evidence for Cortical Network Reorganization in Healthy Adults

Sub-threshold stochastic fingertip vibration lowered light-touch detection thresholds in every tested participant, with sensitivity gains up to 19× in healthy adults and 4× in stroke survivors.

• Why it matters: Cutaneous sensation often declines with ageing and after stroke, and effective, mechanism-informed ways to improve light-touch sensitivity are needed.
• What they did: Nineteen healthy participants and five stroke survivors received right middle fingertip vibrations; thresholds were measured for stochastic vibration alone, a 30 Hz sinusoid, and the sinusoid plus imperceptible stochastic noise at 80% of the stochastic threshold (and 120% in 10 healthy participants). High-density 64-channel EEG in healthy adults assessed source-localized functional connectivity changes.
• The result: In healthy adults, adding sub-threshold noise significantly increased functional connectivity, most in the alpha band, with frontal and anterior cingulate involvement (cluster-based permutation p < 0.05), supporting noise-driven modulation of sensory and attentional networks.

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