Vaughan G. Macefield
Papers
2
Total Citations
48
H-Index
2
About
Vaughan G. Macefield is a leading neuroscientist whose research centers on the neural mechanisms of touch, proprioception, and autonomic control, with a particular focus on how tactile afferents enable dexterous manipulation. His major contributions include revealing how populations of mechanoreceptors in the human hand encode critical parameters for grip safety, such as the tangential-to-normal force ratio, before a slip occurs—work that has profound implications for both understanding human motor control and advancing robotic tactile sensing. His 2014 paper on tactile afferents encoding grip safety, cited 27 times, demonstrates how the nervous system anticipates frictional changes to maintain stable object handling. In a related study (21 citations), he classified texture and frictional conditions from initial contact responses, showing that tactile afferents can rapidly discriminate surface properties. Macefield’s work bridges basic sensory physiology and applied bionics, earning him recognition for elucidating the neural codes that underpin skilled hand function. His findings inform the design of prosthetic limbs and haptic interfaces, making him a pivotal figure in somatosensory research.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Tactile afferents encode grip safety before slip for different frictions27 citations · 2014
- 2