Skin and muscle receptors shape coordinated fast feedback responses in the upper limb

Despite many real-world examples where skin and muscle receptors must function in concert to support movement control, responses based on these sensory modalities are usually separated from one another in laboratory studies. Proprioception is often considered the domain of muscle receptors, whereas the skin’s function is often assumed to be discriminative touch. This distinction understates the extent to which sensory feedback from skin and muscle work together to shape successful movement control. Here we review the functional characteristics and similarities between fast feedback responses of the upper limb originating from muscle stretch and skin slip. We place an emphasis on recent evidence of their highly inter-dependent nature and how they build on one another to implement common tasks like object manipulation in the face of external forces applied to the arm or hand.