Gated shifter part - technical question

In many pictures of the gates on Ferrari's, I can see a part below the gate, connected to the shifter shaft.

If the picture is the right angle, it also looks like there is a spring, also on the shaft below this part.

What does this part do?

My guess is that it provides pressure underneath the shift gate to keep shifter vibrations to a minimum, but I'd love to know from someone more knowledgeable on this.

Here it is on a Dino:

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And again on a 355:
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On the 360 and 430 it appears to be circular:

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430:

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Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks, I never would have guessed that.

 

I current drive a Gen 5 Viper which is a 6 speed stick. I've always been a fan of gated shifters and have been working on a possible gated shift plate for my Viper.

I've always been interested in the 360 Modena (6 speed of course) and am also interested in the California but would want a manual (hence my other thread about the manual cars). I'm a few years out from pulling the trigger on an Fcar.

Regarding reverse lockout on the Viper, it uses a Tremec TR6060 which has a mechanism that prevents moving to R while in motion, aside from that it requires no other mechanism, just additional shift effort/angle. I've owned other cars that had an actual mechanism you would move for reverse (C3 Corvette, Lotus Elise, Lotus Exige).