{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T15:57:21Z","timestamp":1789055841895,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767744000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000038","name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000038","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Hum. Neurosci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sensory perception relies on the brain's integration of multiple imprecise inputs, a process known as cue combination. Previous research has investigated multisensory integration or unisensory integration within non-haptic senses. In contrast, cue combination within the sense of touch has been understudied. Here, we investigated whether humans optimally combine haptic cutaneous and finger configuration cues when discerning the size of a disk held edge-on between the thumb and index fingers. When these two fingers span the disk to contact its perimeter, a finger configuration cue (the perceived distance between the fingers) provides information about the disk's size. Less obviously, cutaneous cues to disk size may result from the indentation of finger pads caused by the disk's curvature. We considered three hypotheses for how humans might use these cues: they might rely solely on the most reliable cue (Winner-Take-All Model, WTA), combine cues based on a simple arithmetic average (Average Model, AVG), or combine cues via an optimal weighted average (Optimal Model, OPT) in which more reliable cues exert proportionately greater influence on the percept. In three experiments involving 34 participants, we compared participant performance to the predictions of the three models. Each experiment tested participants using a two-interval forced-choice (2IFC) paradigm with 3D printed disk stimuli. On each trial, under occluded vision, participants felt two disks sequentially and responded which felt larger. Participants were tested with the cutaneous index finger cue, cutaneous thumb cue, and finger configuration cue individually and with the three cues together. The three experiments were designed to have progressively greater resolution to distinguish the relevant models from one another. In Experiments 1 and 2, the disks were circular. Experiment 3 included non-circular cue-conflict stimuli. The improvement of accuracy in multi-cue conditions, and perceptual effects of cue-conflict stimuli, were broadly consistent with optimal cue combination. Eight of 12 participants were classified as OPT in Experiment 1; eight of 11 in Experiment 2; and 10 of 11 in Experiment 3. The mean confidence of OPT classifications was 0.56, 0.61, and 0.98, respectively. We conclude that humans combine haptic cues optimally to judge the sizes of held objects.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1653390","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T06:48:21Z","timestamp":1767768501000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Humans optimally integrate cutaneous and proprioceptive cues in haptic size perception"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Keon S.","family":"Allen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Goldreich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2004.01.029","article-title":"The ventriloquist effect results from near-optimal bimodal integration","volume":"14","author":"Alais","year":"2004","journal-title":"Curr. Biol"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.06.24.661403","article-title":"Humans optimally integrate cutaneous and proprioceptive cues in haptic size perception","author":"Allen","year":"2025","journal-title":"bioRxiv"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2008.09.021","article-title":"Probabilistic population codes for bayesian decision making","volume":"60","author":"Beck","year":"2008","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"919","DOI":"10.1016\/0042-6989(93)90075-8","article-title":"Interaction of stereo, texture and outline cues in the shape perception of three-dimensional ridges","volume":"33","author":"Buckley","year":"1993","journal-title":"Vis. Res"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1038\/415429a","article-title":"Humans integrate visual and haptic information in a statistically optimal fashion","volume":"415","author":"Ernst","year":"2002","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15601","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2574-09.2009","article-title":"Dynamic reweighting of visual and vestibular cues during self-motion perception","volume":"29","author":"Fetsch","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Neurosci"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"246","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2008.10.004","article-title":"The science of interpersonal touch: an overview","volume":"34","author":"Gallace","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"483","DOI":"10.1016\/S0960-9822(03)00133-7","article-title":"Viewing geometry determines how vision and haptics combine in size perception","volume":"13","author":"Gepshtein","year":"2003","journal-title":"Curr. Biol"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3791\/1374","article-title":"A tactile automated passive-finger stimulator (TAPS)","author":"Goldreich","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Vis. Exp"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"798","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.15-01-00798.1995","article-title":"Representation of curved surfaces in responses of mechanoreceptive afferent fibers innervating the monkey's fingerpad","volume":"15","author":"Goodwin","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Neurosci"},{"key":"B11","first-page":"67","article-title":"\u201cOntogenesis of sensory function in birds and mammals,\u201d","author":"Gottlieb","year":"1971","journal-title":"The Biopsychology of Development"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-7643-7612-3_31","article-title":"\u201cHaptic shape cues, invariants, priors and interface design,\u201d","author":"Hayward","year":"2008","journal-title":"Human Haptic Perception: Basics and Applications"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1167\/4.12.1","article-title":"Slant from texture and disparity cues: optimal cue combination","volume":"4","author":"Hillis","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Vis"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3621","DOI":"10.1016\/S0042-6989(99)00088-7","article-title":"Optimal integration of texture and motion cues to depth","volume":"39","author":"Jacobs","year":"1999","journal-title":"Vis. Res"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3097","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2011.0153","article-title":"Haptic object perception: spatial dimensionality and relation to vision","volume":"366","author":"Klatzky","year":"2011","journal-title":"Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2729","DOI":"10.1016\/S0042-6989(98)00285-5","article-title":"Bayesian adaptive estimation of psychometric slope and threshold","volume":"39","author":"Kontsevich","year":"1999","journal-title":"Vis. Res"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1432","DOI":"10.1038\/nn1790","article-title":"Bayesian inference with probabilistic population codes","volume":"9","author":"Ma","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nat. Neurosci"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-071013-014017","article-title":"Neural coding of uncertainty and probability","volume":"37","author":"Ma","year":"2014","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Neurosci"},{"key":"B19","volume-title":"Bayesian Models of Perception and Action: An Introduction","author":"Ma","year":"2023"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-35046-7","article-title":"Bayes-like integration of a new sensory skill with vision","volume":"8","author":"Negen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Rep"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1636","DOI":"10.1007\/s00426-021-01581-8","article-title":"Integration of visual landmark cues in spatial memory","volume":"86","author":"Newman","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol. Res"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"342","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03194883","article-title":"The visual and haptic perception of natural object shape","volume":"66","author":"Norman","year":"2004","journal-title":"Percept. Psychophys"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"286","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03203081","article-title":"On the theory of Weber fractions","volume":"42","author":"Norwich","year":"1987","journal-title":"Percept. Psychophys"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03203081","article-title":"Inference and computation with population codes","volume":"26","author":"Pouget","year":"2003","journal-title":"Ann. Rev. Neurosci"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"834","DOI":"10.1016\/S0960-9822(02)00836-9","article-title":"When feeling is more important than seeing in sensorimotor adaptation","volume":"12","author":"van Beers","year":"2002","journal-title":"Curr. Biol"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Human Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1653390\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T06:48:23Z","timestamp":1767768503000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1653390\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]]},"references-count":25,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1653390"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1653390","relation":{},"ISSN":["1662-5161"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1662-5161","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]]},"article-number":"1653390"}}