scholarly journals Frequency selective encoding of substrate vibrations in the somatosensory cortex

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Prsa ◽  
Daniel Huber
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation ◽  
Frequency Information ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
Fundamental Information ◽  
Solid Substrates ◽  
Frequency Independent ◽  
Substrate Vibrations

AbstractSensing vibrations that propagate through solid substrates conveys fundamental information about moving objects and other nearby dynamic events. Here we report that neurons responsive to substrate vibrations applied to the mouse forelimb reveal a new way of representing frequency information in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). In contrast to vibrotactile stimulation of primate glabrous skin, which produces temporally entrained spiking and frequency independent firing rates, we found that mouse S1 neurons rely on a different coding scheme: their spike rates are conspicuously tuned to a preferred frequency of the stimulus. Histology, peripheral nerve block and optogenetic tagging experiments furthermore reveal that these responses are associated with the activation of mechanoreceptors located in deep subdermal tissue of the distal forelimb. We conclude that the encoding of frequency information of substrate-borne vibrations in the mouse S1 might be analogous to the representation of pitch of airborne sound in auditory cortex.

scholarly journals Common computational principle for vibro-tactile pitch perception in mouse and human

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Prsa ◽  
Deniz Kilicel ◽  
Ali Nourizonoz ◽  
Kuo-Sheng Lee ◽  
Daniel Huber
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Spectral Sensitivity ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Vibration Frequencies ◽  
Fundamental Relationship ◽  
Solid Substrates ◽  
Behavioral Tasks ◽  
Perceptual Attribute ◽  
Substrate Vibrations

We live surrounded by vibrations generated by moving objects. These oscillatory stimuli can produce sound (i.e. airborne waves) and propagate through solid substrates. Pitch is the main perceptual characteristic of sound, and a similar perceptual attribute seems to exist in the case of substrate vibrations: vibro-tactile pitch. Here, we establish a mechanistic relationship between vibro-tactile pitch perception and the actual physical properties of vibrations using behavioral tasks, in which vibratory stimuli were delivered to the human fingertip or the mouse forelimb. The resulting perceptual reports were analyzed with a model demonstrating that physically different combinations of vibration frequencies and amplitudes can produce equal pitch perception. We found that the perceptually indistinguishable but physically different stimuli follow a common computational principle in mouse and human. It dictates that vibro-tactile pitch perception is shifted with increases in amplitude toward the frequency of highest vibrotactile sensitivity. These findings suggest the existence of a fundamental relationship between the seemingly unrelated concepts of spectral sensitivity and pitch perception.

scholarly journals Abnormal Access of Axial Vibrotactile Input to Deafferented Somatosensory Cortex in Human Upper Limb Amputees

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 2753-2764 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. M. Kew ◽  
Peter W. Halligan ◽  
John C. Marshall ◽  
Richard E. Passingham ◽  
JOHN C. Rothwell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Correlation Analysis ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Phantom Limb ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation ◽  
Pectoral Region ◽  
Human Upper Limb

Kew, John J. M., Peter W. Halligan, John C. Marshall, Richard E. Passingham, John C. Rothwell, Michael C. Ridding, C. David Marsden, and David J. Brooks. Abnormal access of axial vibrotactile input to deafferented somatosensory cortex in human upper limb amputees. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 2753–2764, 1997. We studied two human subjects with total deafferentation of one upper limb secondary to traumatic multiple cervical root avulsions. Both subjects developed a phantom limb and underwent elective amputation of the paralyzed, deafferentated limb. Psychophysical study revealed in each subject an area of skin in the pectoral region ipsilateral to the amputation where vibrotactile stimulation (VS) elicited referred sensations (RS) in the phantom limb. Positron emission tomography was then used to measure regional cerebral blood flow changes during VS of the pectoral region ipsilateral to the amputation with RS and during VS of a homologous part of the pectoral region adjacent to the intact arm without RS. A voxel-based correlation analysis was subsequently used to study functional connectivity. VS of the pectoral region adjacent to the intact arm was associated with activation of the dorsal part of the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in a position consistent with the S1 trunk area. In contrast, VS of the pectoral region ipsilateral to the amputation with RS was associated with activation of the contralateral S1 that extended from the level of the trunk representation ventrally over distances of 20 and 12 mm, respectively, in the two subjects. The area of S1 activated during VS of the digits in a normal control subject was coextensive with the ventral S1 region abnormally activated during VS of the ectopic phantom representation in the two amputees, suggesting that the deafferented digit or hand/arm area had been activated by sensory input from the pectoral region. Correlation analysis showed an abnormal pattern of intrinsic connectivity within the deafferented S1 hand/arm area of both amputees. In one subject, the deafferented S1 was functionally connected with 3 times as many S1 voxels as the normally afferented S1. This abnormal functional connectivity extended in both the rostrocaudal and ventrodorsal dimensions. The results demonstrate that sensory input delivered to the axial body surface may gain access to the S1 hand/arm area in some humans who have suffered extensive deafferentation of this area. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that deafferentation of an area of S1 may result in activation of previously dormant inputs from body surfaces represented in immediately adjacent parts of S1. The results also provide evidence that changes in functional connectivity between these adjacent areas of the cortex play a role in the somatotopic reorganization.

Localization of somatosensory function by using positron emission tomography scanning: a comparison with intraoperative cortical stimulation

1999 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 478-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Bittar ◽  
André Olivier ◽  
Abbas F. Sadikot ◽  
Frederick Andermann ◽  
Roch M. Comeau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positron Emission Tomography ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Cortical Stimulation ◽  
Emission Tomography ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Pet Scanning ◽  
Fine Print

Object. To investigate the utility of [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET) activation studies in the presurgical mapping of primary somatosensory cortex, the authors compared the magnitude and location of activation foci obtained using PET scanning with the results of intraoperative cortical stimulation (ICS).Methods. The authors used PET scanning and vibrotactile stimulation (of the face, hand, or foot) to localize the primary somatosensory cortex before surgical resection of mass lesions or epileptogenic foci affecting the central area in 20 patients. With the aid of image-guided surgical systems, the locations of significant activation foci on PET scanning were compared with those of positive ICS performed at craniotomy after the patient had received a local anesthetic agent. In addition, the relationship between the magnitude and statistical significance of blood flow changes and the presence of positive ICS was examined.In 22 (95.6%) of 23 statistically significant (p < 0.05) PET activation foci, spatially concordant sites on ICS were also observed. Intraoperative cortical stimulation was positive in 40% of the PET activation studies that did not result in statistically significant activation. In the patients showing these results, there was a clearly identifiable t-statistic peak that was spatially concordant with the site of positive ICS in the sensorimotor area. All PET activation foci with a t statistic greater than 4.75 were associated with spatially concordant sites of positive ICS. All PET activation foci with a t statistic less than 3.2 were associated with negative ICS.Conclusions. Positron emission tomography is an accurate method for mapping the primary somatosensory cortex before surgery. The need for ICS, which requires local anesthesia, may be eliminated when PET foci with high (> 4.75) or low (< 3.20) t-statistic peaks are elicited by vibrotactile stimulation.

scholarly journals Integrated Ontologies for Spatial Scene Descriptions

2013 ◽  
pp. 1751-1763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sotirios Batsakis ◽  
Euripides G.M. Petrakis
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Systems Medicine ◽  
Content Dissemination ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Content Processing ◽  
Application Fields

Scene descriptions are typically expressed in natural language texts and are integrated within Web pages, books, newspapers, and other means of content dissemination. The capabilities of such means can be enhanced to support automated content processing and communication between people or machines by allowing the scene contents to be extracted and expressed in ontologies, a formal syntax rich in semantics interpretable by both people and machines. Ontologies enable more effective querying, reasoning, and general use of content and allow for standardizing the quality and delivery of information across communicating information sources. Ontologies are defined using the well-established standards of the Semantic Web for expressing scene descriptions in application fields such as Geographic Information Systems, medicine, and the World Wide Web (WWW). Ontologies are not only suitable for describing static scenes with static objects (e.g., in photographs) but also enable representation of dynamic events with objects and properties changing in time (e.g., moving objects in a video). Representation of both static and dynamic scenes by ontologies, as well as querying and reasoning over static and dynamic ontologies are important issues for further research. These are exactly the problems this chapter is dealing with.

Differential Effects of Cognitive Demand on Human Cortical Activation Associated With Vibrotactile Stimulation

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 1623-1631 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-C. Albanese ◽  
E. G. Duerden ◽  
V. Bohotin ◽  
P. Rainville ◽  
G. H. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Baseline Period ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Localization Task ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Detection And Localization

This event-related functional MRI study examines the neural correlates of vibrotactile sensation within the context of different psychophysical demands. Nine subjects received vibrotactile stimuli on the right volar forearm during detection, localization, and passive tasks. In the detection task, subjects indicated the offset (end) of each stimulus by pressing a response key with their left hand. In the localization task, subjects identified the location of the stimulus (“distal?” or “proximal?”) by pressing the appropriate response key 4 s after the end of the stimulus. In the passive task, subjects received the same vibrotactile stimuli, but no response was required. Analysis of stimulus-evoked activity compared with the resting baseline period revealed significant bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex activation for all three tasks. However, only in the offset-detection and localization tasks was stimulus-evoked activation observed in other expected areas of tactile processing, such as contralateral primary somatosensory cortex neighboring the posterior parietal cortex (SI/PPC) and in bilateral anterior insular cortex (aIC). During the localization task, we identified vibrotactile-evoked activation in the right aIC, which was maintained after the termination of the stimulus. Results suggest that vibrotactile-related activation within SI/PPC and aIC is enhanced by the increased levels of attention and cognitive demands required by the detection and localization tasks. Activation of aIC not only during vibrotactile stimulation, but also during the poststimulus delay in the localization trials, is consistent with the growing literature linking this area with the perception and short-term memory of tactile information.

scholarly journals An Experimental Animal Model that Parallels Neurosensory Assessments of Concussion

2021 ◽  
Vol 186 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 552-558
Author(s):  
Oleg Favorov ◽  
Tim Challener ◽  
Mark Tommerdahl
Keyword(s):  
Animal Model ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Experimental Animal ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Experimental Animal Model ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Amplitude Discrimination ◽  
Made In

ABSTRACT Introduction Tactile-based quantitative sensory assessments have proven successful in differentiating concussed vs. non-concussed individuals. One potential advantage of this methodology is that an experimental animal model can be used to obtain neurophysiological recordings of the neural activity in the somatosensory cortex evoked in response to the same tactile stimuli that are used in human sensory assessments and establish parallels between various metrics of stimulus-evoked cortical activity and perception of the stimulus attributes. Materials and Methods Stimulus-evoked neural activity was recorded via extracellular microelectrodes in rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in response to vibrotactile stimuli that are used in two particular human sensory assessments (reaction time (RT) and amplitude discrimination). Experiments were conducted on healthy control and brain-injured (BI) rats. Results Similar to the effects of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) on human neurosensory assessments, comparable experimentally induced brain injuries in rats resulted in the following: (1) elevation of S1 responsivity to vibrotactile stimulation that depended nonlinearly on stimulus amplitude, significantly reducing its capacity to discriminate between stimuli of different amplitudes; (2) 50% reduction in S1 signal-to-noise ratios, which can be expected to contribute to elevation of RT in BI rats; and (3) 60% increase in intertrial variability of S1 responses to vibrotactile stimulation, which can be expected to contribute to elevation of RT variability in BI rats. Conclusions The results demonstrate suggestive similarities between neurophysiological observations made in the experimental rat mTBI model and observations made in post-concussion individuals with regard to three sensory assessment metrics (amplitude discrimination, RT, and RT variability). This is the first successful model that demonstrates that perceptual metrics obtained from human individuals are impacted by mTBI in a manner consistent with neurophysiological observations obtained from rat S1.

High-density optical mapping of the human somatosensory cortex to vibrotactile stimulation

NeuroImage ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. S163
Author(s):  
S.P. Koch ◽  
J. Menert ◽  
C. Schmitz ◽  
S. Holtze ◽  
A. Villringer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Optical Mapping ◽  
High Density ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation

scholarly journals Integrated Ontologies for Spatial Scene Descriptions

2012 ◽  
pp. 321-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sotirios Batsakis ◽  
Euripides G.M. Petrakis
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Systems Medicine ◽  
Content Dissemination ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Content Processing ◽  
Application Fields

Scene descriptions are typically expressed in natural language texts and are integrated within Web pages, books, newspapers, and other means of content dissemination. The capabilities of such means can be enhanced to support automated content processing and communication between people or machines by allowing the scene contents to be extracted and expressed in ontologies, a formal syntax rich in semantics interpretable by both people and machines. Ontologies enable more effective querying, reasoning, and general use of content and allow for standardizing the quality and delivery of information across communicating information sources. Ontologies are defined using the well-established standards of the Semantic Web for expressing scene descriptions in application fields such as Geographic Information Systems, medicine, and the World Wide Web (WWW). Ontologies are not only suitable for describing static scenes with static objects (e.g., in photographs) but also enable representation of dynamic events with objects and properties changing in time (e.g., moving objects in a video). Representation of both static and dynamic scenes by ontologies, as well as querying and reasoning over static and dynamic ontologies are important issues for further research. These are exactly the problems this chapter is dealing with.

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