High frequency somatosensory stimulation increases sensori-motor inhibition and leads to perceptual improvement in healthy subjects

High frequency repetitive somatosensory stimulation (HF-RSS), which is a patterned electric stimulation applied to the skin through surface electrodes, improves two-point discrimination, somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT) and motor performance in humans. However, the mechanisms which underlie these changes are still unknown. In particular, we hypothesize that refinement of inhibition might be responsible for the improvement in spatial and temporal perception.