Channels in touch -- Identification of specific neural systems responsible for mechanoreception -- Duplex model of mechanoreception -- Spatial and temporal summation in the P system -- The neural bases of the tactile systems -- Anatomy of tactile receptors -- Neurophysiology of tactile receptors and their nerve fibers -- Neural bases of the P and NP systems -- Four neural systems mediate the detection of vibratory stimuli -- Frequency selectivity of a neural system is determined by its receptors -- From neural systems to information-processing channels -- Sensation-magnitude enhancement occurs within but not across channels -- Multichannel model of tactile sensitivity -- The psychophysical tuning curve -- Testing the multichannel model through experiments on adaptation and masking -- Adaptation reveals the existence of tactile channels -- Masking occurs within but not across channels -- Testing the multichannel model through experiments on sensory learning -- Properties of tactile channels -- The frequency selectivity of channels -- Temporal summation and temporal acuity -- Spatial acuity -- Edge detection -- Spatial summation -- Effects of observer characteristics -- Effects of aging on the sensitivity of tactile channels -- Effects of the menstrual cycle -- The functional roles of channels -- Channels enhance the detectability of stimuli -- Channels enhance the discriminability of stimuli -- The functional roles of the individual tactile channels -- The decibel scale -- The functional role of the PC channel -- The functional role of the RA channel -- The functional role of the SA I channel -- The functional role of the SA II channel -- Specialization of channels -- Channel interactions -- Summation of sensation magnitude across channels -- The perception of texture -- Role of attention in the enhancement and summation of sensation magnitude -- Interactions between tactile channels and other somatosensory submodalities.