"Perhaps the most surprising result of our study is that these peripheral neurons, which are engaged when a fingertip examines an object, perform the same type of calculations done by neurons in the cerebral cortex,” said one of the team, neuroscientist Andrew Pruszynski, in a press release. "Somewhat simplified, it means that our touch experiences are already processed by neurons in the skin before they reach the brain for further processing."
http://sciencealert.com.au/news/20140309-26114.html