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Rosenthal IA, Bashford L, Bjånes D, Pejsa K, Lee B, Liu C, Andersen RA. Visual context affects the perceived timing of tactile sensations elicited through intra-cortical microstimulation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.13.593529. [PMID: 38798438 PMCID: PMC11118490 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.13.593529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Intra-cortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a technique to provide tactile sensations for a somatosensory brain-machine interface (BMI). A viable BMI must function within the rich, multisensory environment of the real world, but how ICMS is integrated with other sensory modalities is poorly understood. To investigate how ICMS percepts are integrated with visual information, ICMS and visual stimuli were delivered at varying times relative to one another. Both visual context and ICMS current amplitude were found to bias the qualitative experience of ICMS. In two tetraplegic participants, ICMS and visual stimuli were more likely to be experienced as occurring simultaneously when visual stimuli were more realistic, demonstrating an effect of visual context on the temporal binding window. The peak of the temporal binding window varied but was consistently offset from zero, suggesting that multisensory integration with ICMS can suffer from temporal misalignment. Recordings from primary somatosensory cortex (S1) during catch trials where visual stimuli were delivered without ICMS demonstrated that S1 represents visual information related to ICMS across visual contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle A Rosenthal
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Lead Contact
| | - Luke Bashford
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, UK
| | - David Bjånes
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Kelsie Pejsa
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Brian Lee
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
- USC Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Charles Liu
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
- USC Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
- Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey, CA 90242, USA
| | - Richard A Andersen
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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2
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Forster B, Abad-Hernando S. In your skin? Somatosensory cortex is purposely recruited to situate but not simulate vicarious touch. Neuroimage 2024; 289:120561. [PMID: 38428551 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous studies of vicarious touch suggest that we automatically simulate observed touch experiences in our own body representation including primary and secondary somatosensory cortex (SCx). However, whether these early sensory areas are activated in a reflexive manner and the extent with which such SCx activations represent touch qualities, like texture, remains unclear. We measured event-related potentials (ERPs) of SCx's hierarchical processing stages, which map onto successive somatosensory ERP components, to investigate the timing of vicarious touch effects. In the first experiment, participants (n = 43) merely observed touch or no-touch to a hand; in the second, participants saw different touch textures (soft foam and hard rubber) either touching a hand (other-directed) or they were instructed that the touch was self-directed and to feel the touch. Each touch sequence was followed by a go/no-go task. We probed SCx activity and isolated SCx vicarious touch activations from visual carry over effects. We found that vicarious touch conditions (touch versus no-touch and soft versus hard) did not modulate early sensory ERP components (i.e. P50, N80); but we found effects on behavioural responses to the subsequent go/no-go stimulus consistent with post-perceptual effects. When comparing other- with self-directed touch conditions, we found that early and mid-latency components (i.e. P50, N80, P100, N140) were modulated consistent with early SCx activations. Importantly, these early sensory activations were not modulated by touch texture. Therefore, SCx is purposely recruited when participants are instructed to attend to touch; but such activation only situates, rather than fully simulates, the seen tactile experience in SCx.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina Forster
- Centre for Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK.
| | - Sonia Abad-Hernando
- Centre for Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK; Psychology Department, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, UK
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3
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Lisi MP, Fusaro M, Aglioti SM. Visual perspective and body ownership modulate vicarious pain and touch: A systematic review. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02477-5. [PMID: 38429591 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02477-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
We conducted a systematic review investigating the influence of visual perspective and body ownership (BO) on vicarious brain resonance and vicarious sensations during the observation of pain and touch. Indeed, the way in which brain reactivity and the phenomenological experience can be modulated by blurring the bodily boundaries of self-other distinction is still unclear. We screened Scopus and WebOfScience, and identified 31 articles, published from 2000 to 2022. Results show that assuming an egocentric perspective enhances vicarious resonance and vicarious sensations. Studies on synaesthetes suggest that vicarious conscious experiences are associated with an increased tendency to embody fake body parts, even in the absence of congruent multisensory stimulation. Moreover, immersive virtual reality studies show that the type of embodied virtual body can affect high-order sensations such as appropriateness, unpleasantness, and erogeneity, associated with the touched body part and the toucher's social identity. We conclude that perspective plays a key role in the resonance with others' pain and touch, and full-BO over virtual avatars allows investigation of complex aspects of pain and touch perception which would not be possible in reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo P Lisi
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.
| | - Martina Fusaro
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- CLN2S@Sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy
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4
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Bellard A, Trotter PD, McGlone FL, Cazzato V. Role of medial prefrontal cortex and primary somatosensory cortex in self and other-directed vicarious social touch: a TMS study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad060. [PMID: 37837378 PMCID: PMC10640852 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Conflicting evidence points to the contribution of several key nodes of the 'social brain' to the processing of both discriminatory and affective qualities of interpersonal touch. Whether the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), two brain areas vital for tactile mirroring and affective mentalizing, play a functional role in shared representations of C-tactile (CT) targeted affective touch is still a matter of debate. Here, we used offline continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to mPFC, S1 and vertex (control) prior to participants providing ratings of vicarious touch pleasantness for self and others delivered across several body sites at CT-targeted velocities. We found that S1-cTBS led to a significant increase in touch ratings to the self, with this effect being positively associated to levels of interoceptive awareness. Conversely, mPFC-cTBS reduced pleasantness ratings for touch to another person. These effects were not specific for CT-optimal (slow) stroking velocities, but rather they applied to all types of social touch. Overall, our findings challenge the causal role of the S1 and mPFC in vicarious affective touch and suggest that self- vs other-directed vicarious touch responses might crucially depend on the specific involvement of key social networks in gentle tactile interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh Bellard
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Paula D Trotter
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Francis L McGlone
- Institute of Psychology, Health & Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Valentina Cazzato
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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5
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Smit S, Moerel D, Zopf R, Rich AN. Vicarious touch: Overlapping neural patterns between seeing and feeling touch. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120269. [PMID: 37423272 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Simulation theories propose that vicarious touch arises when seeing someone else being touched triggers corresponding representations of being touched. Prior electroencephalography (EEG) findings show that seeing touch modulates both early and late somatosensory responses (measured with or without direct tactile stimulation). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies have shown that seeing touch increases somatosensory cortical activation. These findings have been taken to suggest that when we see someone being touched, we simulate that touch in our sensory systems. The somatosensory overlap when seeing and feeling touch differs between individuals, potentially underpinning variation in vicarious touch experiences. Increases in amplitude (EEG) or cerebral blood flow response (fMRI), however, are limited in that they cannot test for the information contained in the neural signal: seeing touch may not activate the same information as feeling touch. Here, we use time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis on whole-brain EEG data from people with and without vicarious touch experiences to test whether seen touch evokes overlapping neural representations with the first-hand experience of touch. Participants felt touch to the fingers (tactile trials) or watched carefully matched videos of touch to another person's fingers (visual trials). In both groups, EEG was sufficiently sensitive to allow decoding of touch location (little finger vs. thumb) on tactile trials. However, only in individuals who reported feeling touch when watching videos of touch could a classifier trained on tactile trials distinguish touch location on visual trials. This demonstrates that, for people who experience vicarious touch, there is overlap in the information about touch location held in the neural patterns when seeing and feeling touch. The timecourse of this overlap implies that seeing touch evokes similar representations to later stages of tactile processing. Therefore, while simulation may underlie vicarious tactile sensations, our findings suggest this involves an abstracted representation of directly felt touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Smit
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Denise Moerel
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Griffith Taylor Building A19, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - Regine Zopf
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, Jena 07743, Federal Republic of Germany
| | - Anina N Rich
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia
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6
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Rosenthal IA, Bashford L, Kellis S, Pejsa K, Lee B, Liu C, Andersen RA. S1 represents multisensory contexts and somatotopic locations within and outside the bounds of the cortical homunculus. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112312. [PMID: 37002922 PMCID: PMC10544688 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent literature suggests that tactile events are represented in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) beyond its long-established topography; in addition, the extent to which S1 is modulated by vision remains unclear. To better characterize S1, human electrophysiological data were recorded during touches to the forearm or finger. Conditions included visually observed physical touches, physical touches without vision, and visual touches without physical contact. Two major findings emerge from this dataset. First, vision strongly modulates S1 area 1, but only if there is a physical element to the touch, suggesting that passive touch observation is insufficient to elicit neural responses. Second, despite recording in a putative arm area of S1, neural activity represents both arm and finger stimuli during physical touches. Arm touches are encoded more strongly and specifically, supporting the idea that S1 encodes tactile events primarily through its topographic organization but also more generally, encompassing other areas of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle A Rosenthal
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - Luke Bashford
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Spencer Kellis
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; USC Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Kelsie Pejsa
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Brian Lee
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; USC Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Charles Liu
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; USC Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey, CA 90242, USA
| | - Richard A Andersen
- Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; T&C Chen Brain-machine Interface Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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7
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Manzone DM, Tremblay L. Sensorimotor processing is dependent on observed speed during the observation of hand-hand and hand-object interactions. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022:10.1007/s00426-022-01776-7. [PMID: 36515698 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01776-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Observing a physical interaction between individuals (e.g., observing friends shaking hands) or between an object and an individual (e.g., observing a teammate striking or being struck with a ball) can lead to somatosensory activation in the observer. However, it is not known whether the speed of the observed interaction modulates such somatosensory activation (e.g., observing a teammate being struck with a slow vs. a fast-moving ball). In three experiments, participants observed a hand or object interact with another hand or object, all presented with a slow- or fast-moving effector. To probe sensorimotor processes during observation, participants were asked to react to an auditory beep (i.e., response time [RT] task) at the moment of observed contact. If observed contact led to increased somatosensory activation, RTs would decrease due to statistical and/ or intersensory facilitation. In all three experiments, RTs were lower when observing fast compared to slow motion stimuli, regardless of the moving (i.e., hand or ball) and target stimulus (i.e., hand or leaf). Further, when only an object (i.e., leaf) was the target, RTs did not differ between the moving hand and moving ball condition. In contrast, when an object (i.e., ball) was used as the moving stimulus, the magnitude of the speed effect (i.e., fast - slow RT difference) was significantly larger when the ball contacted a hand as compared to a leaf. Overall, these results provide novel evidence for a relationship between the observed kinematics of an object-human interaction and the sensorimotor processing in the observer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damian M Manzone
- Perceptual Motor Behaviour Laboratory, Centre for Motor Control, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2W6, Canada
| | - Luc Tremblay
- Perceptual Motor Behaviour Laboratory, Centre for Motor Control, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2W6, Canada.
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Schaefer M, Kevekordes MC, Sommer H, Gärtner M. Of Orchids and Dandelions: Empathy but Not Sensory Processing Sensitivity Is Associated with Tactile Discrimination Abilities. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12050641. [PMID: 35625027 PMCID: PMC9140078 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12050641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Many concepts of the human personality are based on assumptions about underlying physiological processes. The most prominent example is probably the concept of extraversion introduced by H.J. Eysenck decades ago. However, more recent approaches also propose that personality traits may be reflected by physiological processes. For example, empathic personality dimensions have been linked to tactile perception, suggesting that individuals with higher tactile sensitivity are also more empathetic to the sensations of others. Another recent example is the concept of sensory processing sensitivity, which has been linked to enhanced primary sensory processing. However, the exact relationship between tactile abilities and personality is still unclear, thus the current study aims to test whether different personality dimensions affect the performance in a tactile acuity task. Tactile abilities of healthy participants were tested with tactile 2-point-thresholds on the hands. Personality dimensions were examined with respect to empathy, sensory processing sensitivity, and the Big Five. Results revealed that empathy, but not sensory processing sensitivity, was associated with tactile performance. We conclude that the ability to feel with someone else seems to be linked to the perception of our own body. Thus, the sense of touch may play an important role for empathy. We discuss explanations of these results and highlight possible implications of our findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schaefer
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(0)-30-6117542; Fax: +49-(0)-30-6715233
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9
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Dispositional empathy predicts primary somatosensory cortex activity while receiving touch by a hand. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11294. [PMID: 34050215 PMCID: PMC8163792 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90344-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research revealed an active network of brain areas such as insula and anterior cingulate cortex when witnessing somebody else in pain and feeling empathy. But numerous studies also suggested a role of the somatosensory cortices for state and trait empathy. While recent studies highlight the role of the observer’s primary somatosensory cortex when seeing painful or nonpainful touch, the interaction of somatosensory cortex activity with empathy when receiving touch on the own body is unknown. The current study examines the relationship of touch related somatosensory cortex activity with dispositional empathy by employing an fMRI approach. Participants were touched on the palm of the hand either by the hand of an experimenter or by a rubber hand. We found that the BOLD responses in the primary somatosensory cortex were associated with empathy personality traits personal distress and perspective taking. This relationship was observed when participants were touched both with the experimenter’s real hand or a rubber hand. What is the reason for this link between touch perception and trait empathy? We argue that more empathic individuals may express stronger attention both to other’s human perceptions as well as to the own sensations. In this way, higher dispositional empathy levels might enhance tactile processing by top-down processes. We discuss possible implications of these findings.
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Schaefer M, Joch M, Rother N. Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:593425. [PMID: 33633552 PMCID: PMC7900490 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.593425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of empathy describes our capacity to understand the emotions and intentions of others and to relate to our conspecifics. Numerous studies investigated empathy as a state as well as a stable personality trait. For example, recent studies in neuroscience suggest, among other brain areas such as the insula or the ACC, a role of the somatosensory cortices for empathy (e.g., when observing someone else being touched). Since the classic understanding of the primary somatosensory cortex is to represent touch on the body surface, we here aimed to test whether tactile performance is linked to the personality trait empathy. To test this, we examined the tactile acuity of 95 healthy participants (mean age 31 years) by using a two-point discrimination threshold task at the index fingers. Trait empathy was assessed by employing the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), which measures self-reported empathy with four scales (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress). Results of regression analyses suggested the subscale empathic concern to be positively associated with performance in the tactile acuity task. We discuss this finding in the light of recent studies on empathy and consider possible implications of tactile training to enhance empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schaefer
- Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marcel Joch
- Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nikolas Rother
- Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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11
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Suzuishi Y, Hidaka S, Kuroki S. Visual motion information modulates tactile roughness perception. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13929. [PMID: 32811859 PMCID: PMC7435275 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70831-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
We perceive the roughness of an object through our eyes and hands. Many crossmodal studies have reported that there is no clear visuo-tactile interaction in roughness perception using static visual cues. One exception is that the visual observation of task-irrelevant hand movements, not the texture of task-relevant objects, can enhance the performance of tactile roughness discrimination. Our study investigated whether task-irrelevant visual motion without either object roughness or bodily cues can influence tactile roughness perception. Participants were asked to touch abrasive papers while moving their hand laterally and viewing moving or static sine wave gratings without being able to see their hand, and to estimate the roughness magnitude of the tactile stimuli. Moving gratings with a low spatial frequency induced smoother roughness perceptions than static visual stimuli when the visual grating moved in the direction opposite the hand movements. The effects of visual motion did not appear when the visual stimuli had a high spatial frequency or when the participants touched the tactile stimuli passively. These results indicate that simple task-irrelevant visual movement without object roughness or bodily cues can modulate tactile roughness perception with active body movements in a spatial-frequency-selective manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yosuke Suzuishi
- Department of Psychology, Rikkyo University, 1-2-26, Kitano, Niiza-shi, Saitama, 352-8558, Japan. .,NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan.
| | - Souta Hidaka
- Department of Psychology, Rikkyo University, 1-2-26, Kitano, Niiza-shi, Saitama, 352-8558, Japan
| | - Scinob Kuroki
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan
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12
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Riečanský I, Lamm C. The Role of Sensorimotor Processes in Pain Empathy. Brain Topogr 2019; 32:965-976. [PMID: 31705422 PMCID: PMC6882755 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-019-00738-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Pain is a salient, aversive sensation which motivates avoidance, but also has a strong social signaling function. Numerous studies have shown that regions of the nervous system active in association with first-hand pain are also active in response to the pain of others. When witnessing somatic pain, such as seeing bodies in painful situations, significant activations occur not only in areas related to the processing of negative emotions, but also in neuronal structures engaged in somatosensation and the control of skeletal muscles. These empathy-related sensorimotor activations are selectively reviewed in this article, with a focus on studies using electrophysiological methods and paradigms investigating responses to somatic pain. Convergent evidence from these studies shows that these activations (1) occur at multiple levels of the nervous system, from the spinal cord up to the cerebral cortex, (2) are best conceptualized as activations of a defensive system, in line with the role of pain to protect body from injury, and (3) contribute to establishing a matching of psychological states between the sufferer and the observer, which ultimately supports empathic understanding and motivate prosocial action. Future research should thus focus on how these sensorimotor responses are related to higher-order empathic responses, including affective sharing and emotion regulation, and how this motivates approach-related prosocial behaviors aimed at alleviating the pain and suffering of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Riečanský
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 813 71, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010, Vienna, Austria.
- Cognitive Neuroscience, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy.
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13
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Hebbian associative plasticity in the visuo-tactile domain: A cross-modal paired associative stimulation protocol. Neuroimage 2019; 201:116025. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 07/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
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Embodied stress: The physiological resonance of psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 105:138-146. [PMID: 30594324 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress is a ubiquitous phenomenon in our society. While acute stress responses are necessary and adaptive, excessive activation of neurobiological stress systems can predispose an individual to far-reaching adverse health outcomes. Living in a complex social environment, experiencing stress is not limited to challenges humans face individually. Possibly linked with our capacity for empathy, we also display the tendency to physiologically resonate with others' stress responses. This recently identified source of stress raises many interesting questions. In comparison to the wealth of studies that have advanced our understanding of sharing others' affective states, the physiological resonance of stress has only recently begun to be more closely investigated. The aim of the current paper is to review the existing literature surrounding the emerging area of "stress contagion", "empathic stress" or "stress resonance", as it has been variably called. After a brief introduction of the concepts of stress and empathy, we discuss several key studies that paved the way for the merging of empathy with the concept of physiological resonance. We then delineate recent empirical studies specifically focusing on the physiological resonance of stress. In the final section of this review, we highlight differences between these studies and discuss the variability in terminology used for what seems to be the same phenomenon. Lastly, potential health implications of chronic empathic stress are presented and possible mechanisms of physiological stress transmission are discussed.
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Chan AWY, Bilger E, Griffin S, Elkis V, Weeks S, Hussey-Anderson L, Pasquina PF, Tsao JW, Baker CI. Visual responsiveness in sensorimotor cortex is increased following amputation and reduced after mirror therapy. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 23:101882. [PMID: 31226622 PMCID: PMC6587025 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Phantom limb pain (PLP) following amputation, which is experienced by the vast majority of amputees, has been reported to be relieved with daily sessions of mirror therapy. During each session, a mirror is used to view the reflected image of the intact limb moving, providing visual feedback consistent with the movement of the missing/phantom limb. To investigate potential neural correlates of the treatment effect, we measured brain responses in volunteers with unilateral leg amputation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a four-week course of mirror therapy. Mirror therapy commenced immediately following baseline scans, which were repeated after approximately two and four week intervals. We focused on responses in the region of sensorimotor cortex corresponding to primary somatosensory and motor representations of the missing leg. At baseline, prior to starting therapy, we found a strong and unexpected response in sensorimotor cortex of amputees to visually presented images of limbs. This response was stronger for images of feet compared to hands and there was no such response in matched controls. Further, this response to visually presented limbs was no longer present at the end of the four week mirror therapy treatment, when perceived phantom limb pain was also reduced. A similar pattern of results was also observed in extrastriate and parietal regions typically responsive to viewing hand actions, but not in regions corresponding to secondary somatosensory cortex. Finally, there was a significant correlation between initial visual responsiveness in sensorimotor cortex and reduction in PLP suggesting a potential marker for predicting efficacy of mirror therapy. Thus, enhanced visual responsiveness in sensorimotor cortex is associated with PLP and modulated over the course of mirror therapy. Visual responsiveness to the sight of limbs in sensorimotor cortex of leg amputees but not matched controls Consistent with prior studies, mirror therapy over 4 weeks reduced phantom limb pain Visual responsiveness in sensorimotor cortex of amputees diminished following mirror therapy Visual responsiveness in sensorimotor cortex might be useful in predicting the potential efficacy of mirror therapy
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie W-Y Chan
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Life Sciences, Division of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, UK; University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Radiology, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Emily Bilger
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; George Washington University Hospital, USA
| | - Sarah Griffin
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Viktoria Elkis
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sharon Weeks
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Paul F Pasquina
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jack W Tsao
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA; University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Neurology, Memphis, TN, USA; Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Chris I Baker
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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16
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Shared neural representations of tactile roughness intensities by somatosensation and touch observation using an associative learning method. Sci Rep 2019; 9:77. [PMID: 30635598 PMCID: PMC6329784 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37378-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous human fMRI studies have reported activation of somatosensory areas not only during actual touch, but also during touch observation. However, it has remained unclear how the brain encodes visually evoked tactile intensities. Using an associative learning method, we investigated neural representations of roughness intensities evoked by (a) tactile explorations and (b) visual observation of tactile explorations. Moreover, we explored (c) modality-independent neural representations of roughness intensities using a cross-modal classification method. Case (a) showed significant decoding performance in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the supramarginal gyrus (SMG), while in the case (b), the bilateral posterior parietal cortices, the inferior occipital gyrus, and the primary motor cortex were identified. Case (c) observed shared neural activity patterns in the bilateral insula, the SMG, and the ACC. Interestingly, the insular cortices were identified only from the cross-modal classification, suggesting their potential role in modality-independent tactile processing. We further examined correlations of confusion patterns between behavioral and neural similarity matrices for each region. Significant correlations were found solely in the SMG, reflecting a close relationship between neural activities of SMG and roughness intensity perception. The present findings may deepen our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying intensity perception of tactile roughness.
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17
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Cortical dynamics underpinning the self-other distinction of touch: A TMS-EEG study. Neuroimage 2018; 178:475-484. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.05.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
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18
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Persistent recruitment of somatosensory cortex during active maintenance of hand images in working memory. Neuroimage 2018; 174:153-163. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
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Functional MRI Responses to Passive, Active, and Observed Touch in Somatosensory and Insular Cortices of the Macaque Monkey. J Neurosci 2018. [PMID: 29540550 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1587-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurophysiological data obtained in primates suggests that merely observing others' actions can modulate activity in the observer's motor cortices. In humans, it has been suggested that these multimodal vicarious responses extend well beyond the motor cortices, including somatosensory and insular brain regions, which seem to yield vicarious responses when witnessing others' actions, sensations, or emotions (Gazzola and Keysers, 2009). Despite the wealth of data with respect to shared action responses in the monkey motor system, whether the somatosensory and insular cortices also yield vicarious responses during observation of touch remains largely unknown. Using independent tactile and motor fMRI localizers, we first mapped the hand representations of two male monkeys' primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortices. In two subsequent visual experiments, we examined fMRI brain responses to (1) observing a conspecific's hand being touched or (2) observing a human hand grasping or mere touching an object or another human hand. Whereas functionally defined "tactile SI" and "tactile SII" showed little involvement in representing observed touch, vicarious responses for touch were found in parietal area PFG, consistent with recent observations in humans (Chan and Baker, 2015). Interestingly, a more anterior portion of SII, and posterior insular cortex, both of which responded when monkeys performed active grasping movements, also yielded visual responses during different instances of touch observation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Common coding of one's own and others' actions, sensations, and emotions seems to be widespread in the brain. Although it is currently unclear to what extent human somatosensory cortices yield vicarious responses when observing touch, even less is known about the presence of similar vicarious responses in monkey somatosensory cortex. We therefore localized monkey somatosensory hand representations using fMRI and investigated whether these regions yield vicarious responses while observing various instances of touch. Whereas "tactile SI and SII" did not elicit responses during touch observation, a more anterior portion of SII, in addition to area PFG and posterior insular cortex, all of which responded during monkeys' own grasping movements, yielded vicarious responses during observed touch.
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How Visual Body Perception Influences Somatosensory Plasticity. Neural Plast 2018; 2018:7909684. [PMID: 29713338 PMCID: PMC5866863 DOI: 10.1155/2018/7909684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of somatosensory plasticity offers unique insights into the neuronal mechanisms that underlie human adaptive and maladaptive plasticity. So far, little attention has been paid on the specific influence of visual body perception on somatosensory plasticity and learning in humans. Here, we review evidence on how visual body perception induces changes in the functional architecture of the somatosensory system and discuss the specific influence the social environment has on tactile plasticity and learning. We focus on studies that have been published in the areas of human cognitive and clinical neuroscience and refer to animal studies when appropriate. We discuss the therapeutic potential of socially mediated modulations of somatosensory plasticity and introduce specific paradigms to induce plastic changes under controlled conditions. This review offers a contribution to understanding the complex interactions between social perception and somatosensory learning by focusing on a novel research field: socially mediated sensory plasticity.
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Phantom Acupuncture Induces Placebo Credibility and Vicarious Sensations: A Parallel fMRI Study of Low Back Pain Patients. Sci Rep 2018; 8:930. [PMID: 29343693 PMCID: PMC5772373 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18870-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Although acupuncture is an effective therapeutic intervention for pain reduction, the exact difference between real and sham acupuncture has not been clearly understood because a somatosensory tactile component is commonly included in the existing sham acupuncture protocols. In an event-related fMRI experiment, we implemented a novel form of sham acupuncture, phantom acupuncture, that reproduces the acupuncture needling procedure without somatosensory tactile stimulation while maintaining the credibility of the acupuncture treatment context. Fifty-six non-specific low back pain patients received either real (REAL) or phantom (PHNT) acupuncture stimulation in a parallel group study. The REAL group exhibited greater activation in the posterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, reflecting the needling-specific components of acupuncture. We demonstrated that PHNT could be delivered credibly. Interestingly, the PHNT-credible group exhibited bilateral activation in SI/SII and also reported vicarious acupuncture sensations without needling stimulation. The PHNT group showed greater activation in the bilateral dorsolateral/ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC/vlPFC). Moreover, the PHNT group exhibited significant pain reduction, with a significant correlation between the subjective fMRI signal in the right dlPFC/vlPFC and a score assessing belief in acupuncture effectiveness. These results support an expectation-related placebo analgesic effect on subjective pain intensity ratings, possibly mediated by right prefrontal cortex activity.
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Kuehn E, Chen X, Geise P, Oltmer J, Wolbers T. Social targets improve body-based and environment-based strategies during spatial navigation. Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:755-764. [PMID: 29327266 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5169-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Encoding the position of another person in space is vital for everyday life. Nevertheless, little is known about the specific navigational strategies associated with encoding the position of another person in the wider spatial environment. We asked two groups of participants to learn the location of a target (person or object) during active navigation, while optic flow information, a landmark, or both optic flow information and a landmark were available in a virtual environment. Whereas optic flow information is used for body-based encoding, such as the simulation of motor movements, landmarks are used to form an abstract, disembodied representation of the environment. During testing, we passively moved participants through virtual space, and compared their abilities to correctly decide whether the non-visible target was before or behind them. Using psychometric functions and the Bayes Theorem, we show that both groups assigned similar weights to body-based and environment-based cues in the condition, where both cue types were available. However, the group who was provided with a person as target showed generally reduced position errors compared to the group who was provided with an object as target. We replicated this effect in a second study with novel participants. This indicates a social advantage in spatial encoding, with facilitated processing of both body-based and environment-based cues during spatial navigation when the position of a person is encoded. This may underlie our critical ability to make accurate distance judgments during social interactions, for example, during fight or flight responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Kuehn
- Aging and Cognition Research Group, DZNE, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany. .,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences Magdeburg, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany. .,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Xiaoli Chen
- Aging and Cognition Research Group, DZNE, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Pia Geise
- Aging and Cognition Research Group, DZNE, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Jan Oltmer
- Aging and Cognition Research Group, DZNE, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Wolbers
- Aging and Cognition Research Group, DZNE, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences Magdeburg, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany
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23
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Visually-Driven Maps in Area 3b. J Neurosci 2018; 38:1295-1310. [PMID: 29301873 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0491-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Revised: 11/28/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory perception relies on the precise neuronal encoding of modality-specific environmental features in primary sensory cortices. Some studies have reported the penetration of signals from other modalities even into early sensory areas. So far, no comprehensive account of maps induced by "foreign sources" exists. We addressed this question using surface-based topographic mapping techniques applied to ultra-high resolution fMRI neuroimaging data, measured in female participants. We show that fine-grained finger maps in human primary somatosensory cortex, area 3b, are somatotopically activated not only during tactile mechanical stimulation, but also when viewing the same fingers being touched. Visually-induced maps were weak in amplitude, but overlapped with the stronger tactile maps tangential to the cortical sheet when finger touches were observed in both first- and third-person perspectives. However, visually-induced maps did not overlap tactile maps when the observed fingers were only approached by an object but not actually touched. Our data provide evidence that "foreign source maps" in early sensory cortices are present in the healthy human brain, that their arrangement is precise, and that their induction is feature-selective. The computations required to generate such specific responses suggest that counterflow (feedback) processing may be much more spatially specific than has been often assumed.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Using ultra-high field fMRI, we provide empirical evidence that viewing touches activates topographically aligned single finger maps in human primary somatosensory cortical area 3b. This shows that "foreign source maps" in early sensory cortices are topographic, precise, and feature-selective in healthy human participants with intact sensory pathways.
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Vieira AI, Almeida P, Canário N, Castelo-Branco M, Nunes MV, Castro-Caldas A. Unisensory and multisensory Self-referential stimulation of the lower limb: An exploratory fMRI study on healthy subjects. Physiother Theory Pract 2017; 34:22-40. [PMID: 28862531 DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2017.1368758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The holistic view of the person is the essence of the physiotherapy. Knowledge of approaches that develop the whole person promotes better patient outcomes. Multisensory Self-referential stimulation, more than a unisensory one, seems to produce a holistic experience of the Self ("Core-Self"). OBJECTIVES (1) To analyze the somatotopic brain activation during unisensory and multisensorial Self-referential stimulus; and (2) to understand if the areas activated by multisensorial Self-referential stimulation are the ones responsible for the "Core-Self." METHODS An exploratory functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was performed with 10 healthy subjects, under the stimulation of the lower limbs with three Self-referential stimuli: unisensory auditory-verbal, unisensory tactile-manual, and multisensory, applying the unisensory stimuli simultaneously. RESULTS Unisensory stimulation elicits bilateral activations of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), of the primary motor cortex (BA4), of the premotor cortex (BA6) and of BA44; multisensory stimulation also elicits activity in TPJ, BA4, and BA6, and when compared with unisensory stimuli, activations were found in: (1) Cortical and subcortical midline structures-BA7 (precuneus), BA9 (medial prefrontal cortex), BA30 (posterior cingulated), superior colliculum and posterior cerebellum; and (2) Posterior lateral cortex-TPJ, posterior BA13 (insula), BA19, and BA37. Bilateral TPJ is the one that showed the biggest activation volume. CONCLUSION This specific multisensory stimulation produces a brain activation map in regions that are responsible for multisensory Self-processing and may represent the Core-Self. We recommend the use of this specific multisensory stimulation as a physiotherapy intervention strategy that might promote the Self-reorganization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Isabel Vieira
- a Department of Physiotherapy, Alcoitão School of Health Sciences , Alcabideche , Portugal.,b Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal , Lisbon , Portugal
| | - Patrícia Almeida
- a Department of Physiotherapy, Alcoitão School of Health Sciences , Alcabideche , Portugal.,b Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal , Lisbon , Portugal
| | - Nádia Canário
- b Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal , Lisbon , Portugal.,c Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging in Life Sciences (IBILI), ICNAS, Faculty of Medicine , University of Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- c Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging in Life Sciences (IBILI), ICNAS, Faculty of Medicine , University of Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal
| | - Maria Vânia Nunes
- b Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal , Lisbon , Portugal
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25
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Abstract
NMDA-dependent Hebbian learning drives neuronal plasticity in different cortical areas, and across species. In the primary somatosensory cortex (S-I), Hebbian learning is induced via the persistent low-rate afferent stimulation of a small area of skin. In particular, plasticity is induced in superficial cortical layers II/III of the S-I cortex that represents the stimulated area of skin. Here, we used the model system of NMDA-dependent Hebbian learning to investigate the influence of non-afferent (visual) input on Hebbian plasticity in S-I. We induced Hebbian learning in 48 participants by applying 3 hours of tactile coactivation to the right index fingertip via small loudspeaker membranes. During coactivation, different groups viewed either touches to individual fingers, which is known to activate S-I receptive fields, touches to an object, which should not activate S-I receptive fields, or no touch at all. Our results show that coactivation significantly lowers tactile spatial discrimination thresholds at the stimulated finger post- versus pre-training across groups. However, we did not find evidence for a significant modulatory effect of visual condition on tactile spatial discrimination performance. This suggests that non-afferent (visual) signals do not interact with Hebbian learning in superficial cortical layers of S-I, but may integrate into deeper cortical layers instead.
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De Martino F, Yacoub E, Kemper V, Moerel M, Uludağ K, De Weerd P, Ugurbil K, Goebel R, Formisano E. The impact of ultra-high field MRI on cognitive and computational neuroimaging. Neuroimage 2017; 168:366-382. [PMID: 28396293 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.03.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2016] [Revised: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to measure functional brain responses non-invasively with ultra high field MRI (7 T and above) represents a unique opportunity in advancing our understanding of the human brain. Compared to lower fields (3 T and below), ultra high field MRI has an increased sensitivity, which can be used to acquire functional images with greater spatial resolution, and greater specificity of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal to the underlying neuronal responses. Together, increased resolution and specificity enable investigating brain functions at a submillimeter scale, which so far could only be done with invasive techniques. At this mesoscopic spatial scale, perception, cognition and behavior can be probed at the level of fundamental units of neural computations, such as cortical columns, cortical layers, and subcortical nuclei. This represents a unique and distinctive advantage that differentiates ultra high from lower field imaging and that can foster a tighter link between fMRI and computational modeling of neural networks. So far, functional brain mapping at submillimeter scale has focused on the processing of sensory information and on well-known systems for which extensive information is available from invasive recordings in animals. It remains an open challenge to extend this methodology to uniquely human functions and, more generally, to systems for which animal models may be problematic. To succeed, the possibility to acquire high-resolution functional data with large spatial coverage, the availability of computational models of neural processing as well as accurate biophysical modeling of neurovascular coupling at mesoscopic scale all appear necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico De Martino
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, 2021 sixth street SE, 55455 Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Essa Yacoub
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, 2021 sixth street SE, 55455 Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Valentin Kemper
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Michelle Moerel
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Maastricht Center for System Biology, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 60, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Kâmil Uludağ
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Peter De Weerd
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Kamil Ugurbil
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, 2021 sixth street SE, 55455 Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Elia Formisano
- Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Maastricht Center for System Biology, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 60, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Valchev N, Tidoni E, Hamilton AFDC, Gazzola V, Avenanti A. Primary somatosensory cortex necessary for the perception of weight from other people's action: A continuous theta-burst TMS experiment. Neuroimage 2017; 152:195-206. [PMID: 28254507 PMCID: PMC5440175 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.02.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Revised: 02/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of a network of areas in the parietal and premotor cortices, which are active both during action execution and observation, suggests that we might understand the actions of other people by activating those motor programs for making similar actions. Although neurophysiological and imaging studies show an involvement of the somatosensory cortex (SI) during action observation and execution, it is unclear whether SI is essential for understanding the somatosensory aspects of observed actions. To address this issue, we used off-line transcranial magnetic continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) just before a weight judgment task. Participants observed the right hand of an actor lifting a box and estimated its relative weight. In counterbalanced sessions, we delivered sham and active cTBS over the hand region of the left SI and, to test anatomical specificity, over the left motor cortex (M1) and the left superior parietal lobule (SPL). Active cTBS over SI, but not over M1 or SPL, impaired task performance relative to sham cTBS. Moreover, active cTBS delivered over SI just before participants were asked to evaluate the weight of a bouncing ball did not alter performance compared to sham cTBS. These findings indicate that SI is critical for extracting somatosensory features (heavy/light) from observed action kinematics and suggest a prominent role of SI in action understanding. TMS over the somatosensory cortex disrupts performance on a weight judgment task. Disruption is specific for judgements based on observed human actions. No TMS effect is found for judgements based on observed non-human motion. No effect is found when TMS is administered over nearby frontal and parietal region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikola Valchev
- BCN Neuroimaging Centre, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, CMHC S110, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Emmanuele Tidoni
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Campus Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italyhe somatosensory aspects of the actions of others rem; IRCSS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonia F de C Hamilton
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- BCN Neuroimaging Centre, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129 B, 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Campus Cesena, 47521 Cesena, Italyhe somatosensory aspects of the actions of others rem; IRCSS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy.
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Gillmeister H, Bowling N, Rigato S, Banissy MJ. Inter-Individual Differences in Vicarious Tactile Perception: a View Across the Lifespan in Typical and Atypical Populations. Multisens Res 2017; 30:485-508. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Touch is our most interpersonal sense, and so it stands to reason that we represent not only our own bodily experiences, but also those felt by others. This review will summarise brain and behavioural research on vicarious tactile perception (mirror touch). Specifically, we will focus on vicarious touch across the lifespan in typical and atypical groups, and will identify the knowledge gaps that are in urgent need of filling by examining what is known about how individuals differ within and between typical and atypical groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helge Gillmeister
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Natalie Bowling
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
| | - Silvia Rigato
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Michael J. Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
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Case LK, Laubacher CM, Olausson H, Wang B, Spagnolo PA, Bushnell MC. Encoding of Touch Intensity But Not Pleasantness in Human Primary Somatosensory Cortex. J Neurosci 2016; 36:5850-60. [PMID: 27225773 PMCID: PMC4879201 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1130-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2015] [Revised: 04/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Growing interest in affective touch has delineated a neural network that bypasses primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Several recent studies, however, have cast doubt on the segregation of touch discrimination and affect, suggesting that S1 also encodes affective qualities. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to examine the role of S1 in processing touch intensity and pleasantness. Twenty-six healthy human adults rated brushing on the hand during fMRI. Intensity ratings significantly predicted activation in S1, whereas pleasantness ratings predicted activation only in the anterior cingulate cortex. Nineteen subjects also received inhibitory rTMS over right hemisphere S1 and the vertex (control). After S1 rTMS, but not after vertex rTMS, sensory discrimination was reduced and subjects with reduced sensory discrimination rated touch as more intense. In contrast, rTMS did not alter ratings of touch pleasantness. Our findings support divergent neural processing of touch intensity and pleasantness, with affective touch encoded outside of S1. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Growing interest in affective touch has identified a neural network that bypasses primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Several recent studies, however, cast doubt on the separation of touch discrimination and affect. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to demonstrate the representation of touch discrimination and intensity in S1, but the representation of pleasantness in the anterior cingulate cortex, not S1. Our findings support divergent neural processing of touch intensity and pleasantness, with affective touch encoded outside of S1. Our study contributes to growing delineation of the affective touch system, a crucial step in understanding its dysregulation in numerous clinical conditions such as autism, eating disorders, depression, and chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Case
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and
| | | | - Håkan Olausson
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Binquan Wang
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and
| | - Primavera A Spagnolo
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, and
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30
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Sun HC, Welchman AE, Chang DHF, Di Luca M. Look but don't touch: Visual cues to surface structure drive somatosensory cortex. Neuroimage 2016; 128:353-361. [PMID: 26778128 PMCID: PMC4767223 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.12.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2015] [Revised: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 12/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
When planning interactions with nearby objects, our brain uses visual information to estimate shape, material composition, and surface structure before we come into contact with them. Here we analyse brain activations elicited by different types of visual appearance, measuring fMRI responses to objects that are glossy, matte, rough, or textured. In addition to activation in visual areas, we found that fMRI responses are evoked in the secondary somatosensory area (S2) when looking at glossy and rough surfaces. This activity could be reliably discriminated on the basis of tactile-related visual properties (gloss, rough, and matte), but importantly, other visual properties (i.e., coloured texture) did not substantially change fMRI activity. The activity could not be solely due to tactile imagination, as asking explicitly to imagine such surface properties did not lead to the same results. These findings suggest that visual cues to an object's surface properties evoke activity in neural circuits associated with tactile stimulation. This activation may reflect the a-priori probability of the physics of the interaction (i.e., the expectation of upcoming friction) that can be used to plan finger placement and grasp force.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua-Chun Sun
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Andrew E Welchman
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
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31
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Case LK, Pineda J, Ramachandran VS. Common coding and dynamic interactions between observed, imagined, and experienced motor and somatosensory activity. Neuropsychologia 2015; 79:233-45. [PMID: 25863237 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2014] [Revised: 03/01/2015] [Accepted: 04/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Motor imagery and perception - considered generally as forms of motor simulation - share overlapping neural representations with motor production. While much research has focused on the extent of this "common coding," less attention has been paid to how these overlapping representations interact. How do imagined, observed, or produced actions influence one another, and how do we maintain control over our perception and behavior? In the first part of this review we describe interactions between motor production and motor simulation, and explore apparent regulatory mechanisms that balance these processes. Next, we consider the somatosensory system. Numerous studies now support a "sensory mirror system" comprised of neural representations activated by either afferent sensation or vicarious sensation. In the second part of this review we summarize evidence for shared representations of sensation and sensory simulation (including imagery and observed sensation), and suggest that similar interactions and regulation of simulation occur in the somatosensory domain as in the motor domain. We suggest that both motor and somatosensory simulations are flexibly regulated to support simulations congruent with our sensorimotor experience and goals and suppress or separate the influence of those that are not. These regulatory mechanisms are frequently revealed by cases of brain injury but can also be employed to facilitate sensorimotor rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Case
- Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, USA; Pain and Integrative Neuroscience Branch, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Jaime Pineda
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, USA
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32
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Seeing is not feeling: posterior parietal but not somatosensory cortex engagement during touch observation. J Neurosci 2015; 35:1468-80. [PMID: 25632124 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3621-14.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Observing touch has been reported to elicit activation in human primary and secondary somatosensory cortices and is suggested to underlie our ability to interpret other's behavior and potentially empathy. However, despite these reports, there are a large number of inconsistencies in terms of the precise topography of activation, the extent of hemispheric lateralization, and what aspects of the stimulus are necessary to drive responses. To address these issues, we investigated the localization and functional properties of regions responsive to observed touch in a large group of participants (n = 40). Surprisingly, even with a lenient contrast of hand brushing versus brushing alone, we did not find any selective activation for observed touch in the hand regions of somatosensory cortex but rather in superior and inferior portions of neighboring posterior parietal cortex, predominantly in the left hemisphere. These regions in the posterior parietal cortex required the presence of both brush and hand to elicit strong responses and showed some selectivity for the form of the object or agent of touch. Furthermore, the inferior parietal region showed nonspecific tactile and motor responses, suggesting some similarity to area PFG in the monkey. Collectively, our findings challenge the automatic engagement of somatosensory cortex when observing touch, suggest mislocalization in previous studies, and instead highlight the role of posterior parietal cortex.
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33
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Martuzzi R, van der Zwaag W, Dieguez S, Serino A, Gruetter R, Blanke O. Distinct contributions of Brodmann areas 1 and 2 to body ownership. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 10:1449-59. [PMID: 25809404 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although body ownership--i.e. the feeling that our bodies belong to us--modulates activity within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), it is still unknown whether this modulation occurs within a somatotopically defined portion of S1. We induced an illusory feeling of ownership for another person's finger by asking participants to hold their palm against another person's palm and to stroke the two joined index fingers with the index and thumb of their other hand. This illusion (numbness illusion) does not occur if the stroking is performed asynchronously or by the other person. We combined this somatosensory paradigm with ultra-high field functional magnetic resonance imaging finger mapping to study whether illusory body ownership modulates activity within different finger-specific areas of S1. The results revealed that the numbness illusion is associated with activity in Brodmann area (BA) 1 within the representation of the finger stroking the other person's finger and in BA 2 contralateral to the stroked finger. These results show that changes in bodily experience modulate the activity within certain subregions of S1, with a different finger-topographical selectivity between the representations of the stroking and of the stroked hand, and reveal that the high degree of somatosensory specialization in S1 extends to bodily self-consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Martuzzi
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland,
| | - Wietske van der Zwaag
- Centre d'Imagerie Biomédical de Lausanne, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Dieguez
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, Laboratory for Cognitive and Neurological Sciences, Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Sciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland, and
| | - Andrea Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rolf Gruetter
- Centre d'Imagerie Biomédical de Lausanne, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
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34
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Riečanský I, Paul N, Kölble S, Stieger S, Lamm C. Beta oscillations reveal ethnicity ingroup bias in sensorimotor resonance to pain of others. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:893-901. [PMID: 25344947 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
People evaluate members of their own social group more favorably and empathize more strongly with their ingroup members. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we explored whether resonant responses of sensorimotor cortex to the pain of others are modulated by the ethnicity of these others. White participants watched video clips of ethnic ingroup and outgroup hands, being either penetrated by a needle syringe or touched by a cotton swab, while EEG was recorded. Time-frequency analysis was applied to Laplacian-transformed signals from the sensors overlying sensorimotor cortex in order to assess event-related desynchronization and synchronization (ERD/ERS) of sensorimotor mu (7-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) rhythms. When watching needle injections, beta ERD was significantly stronger for ingroup compared with outgroup hands. This ethnicity bias was restricted to painful actions, as beta ERD for ingroup and outgroup hands neither differed when observing no-pain videos, nor during presentation of the hands without any treatment. Such vicarious sensorimotor activation could play a role in social interaction by enhancing the understanding of the feelings and reactions of others and hence facilitating behavioral coordination among group members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Riečanský
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Nina Paul
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Sarah Kölble
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Stefan Stieger
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, CE NOREG, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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35
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Ishida H, Suzuki K, Grandi LC. Predictive coding accounts of shared representations in parieto-insular networks. Neuropsychologia 2014; 70:442-54. [PMID: 25447372 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2014] [Revised: 10/07/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and inferior parietal cortex (area PFG) in the macaque monkey brain has provided the physiological evidence for direct matching of the intrinsic motor representations of the self and the visual image of the actions of others. The existence of mirror neurons implies that the brain has mechanisms reflecting shared self and other action representations. This may further imply that the neural basis self-body representations may also incorporate components that are shared with other-body representations. It is likely that such a mechanism is also involved in predicting other's touch sensations and emotions. However, the neural basis of shared body representations has remained unclear. Here, we propose a neural basis of body representation of the self and of others in both human and non-human primates. We review a series of behavioral and physiological findings which together paint a picture that the systems underlying such shared representations require integration of conscious exteroception and interoception subserved by a cortical sensory-motor network involving parieto-inner perisylvian circuits (the ventral intraparietal area [VIP]/inferior parietal area [PFG]-secondary somatosensory cortex [SII]/posterior insular cortex [pIC]/anterior insular cortex [aIC]). Based on these findings, we propose a computational mechanism of the shared body representation in the predictive coding (PC) framework. Our mechanism proposes that processes emerging from generative models embedded in these specific neuronal circuits play a pivotal role in distinguishing a self-specific body representation from a shared one. The model successfully accounts for normal and abnormal shared body phenomena such as mirror-touch synesthesia and somatoparaphrenia. In addition, it generates a set of testable experimental predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroaki Ishida
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Brain Center for Social and Motor Cognition (BCSMC), Parma, Italy; Frontal Lobe Function Project, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Keisuke Suzuki
- Sackler Center for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; School of Informatics and Engineering, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Laura Clara Grandi
- Department of Neuroscience, Unit of Physiology, Parma University, Parma, Italy
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36
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Limanowski J, Lutti A, Blankenburg F. The extrastriate body area is involved in illusory limb ownership. Neuroimage 2014; 86:514-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.10.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2013] [Revised: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
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37
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Malinen S, Renvall V, Hari R. Functional parcellation of the human primary somatosensory cortex to natural touch. Eur J Neurosci 2014; 39:738-43. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2013] [Accepted: 12/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sanna Malinen
- Brain Research Unit O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory Aalto University School of Science P.O. Box 15100 FI‐00076 Aalto Espoo Finland
- Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre Aalto NeuroImaging Aalto University School of Science Espoo Finland
| | - Ville Renvall
- Brain Research Unit O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory Aalto University School of Science P.O. Box 15100 FI‐00076 Aalto Espoo Finland
- Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre Aalto NeuroImaging Aalto University School of Science Espoo Finland
| | - Riitta Hari
- Brain Research Unit O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory Aalto University School of Science P.O. Box 15100 FI‐00076 Aalto Espoo Finland
- Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre Aalto NeuroImaging Aalto University School of Science Espoo Finland
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38
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Quandt LC, Marshall PJ, Bouquet CA, Shipley TF. Somatosensory experiences with action modulate alpha and beta power during subsequent action observation. Brain Res 2013; 1534:55-65. [PMID: 23994217 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.08.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Revised: 08/06/2013] [Accepted: 08/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
How does prior experience with action change how we perceive a similar action performed by someone else? Previous research has examined the role of sensorimotor and visual experiences in action mirroring during subsequent observation, but the contribution of somatosensory experiences to this effect has not been adequately examined. The current study tests whether prior somatosensory stimulation experienced during action production modulates brain activity during observation of similar actions being performed by others. Specifically, changes in alpha- and beta-range oscillations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) during observation of reaching actions were examined in relation to the observer's own prior experience of somatosensory stimulation while carrying out similar actions. Analyses revealed that alpha power over central electrodes was significantly decreased during observation of an action expected to result in somatosensory stimulation. Conversely, beta power was increased when an observed action was expected to result in somatosensory stimulation. These results suggest that somatosensory experiences may uniquely contribute to the way in which we process other people's actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorna C Quandt
- Temple University, Department of Psychology, 1701 N. 13th St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
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39
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Kuehn E, Mueller K, Turner R, Schütz-Bosbach S. The functional architecture of S1 during touch observation described with 7 T fMRI. Brain Struct Funct 2013; 219:119-40. [PMID: 23283478 PMCID: PMC3889700 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-012-0489-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2012] [Accepted: 11/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies indicate that the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) is active not only when touch is physically perceived but also when it is merely observed to be experienced by another person. This social responsivity of S1 has important implications for our understanding of S1 functioning. However, S1 activity during touch observation has not been characterized in great detail to date. We focused on two features of the S1 functional architecture during touch observation, namely the topographical arrangement of index and middle finger receptive fields (RFs), and their dynamic shrinkage during concurrent activation. Both features have important implications for human behavior. We conducted two fMRI studies at 7 T, one where touch was physically perceived, and one where touch was observed. In the two experiments, participants either had their index finger and/or middle finger stimulated using paintbrushes, or just observed similar touch events on video. Our data show that observing and physically experiencing touch elicits overlapping activity changes in S1. In addition, observing touch to the index finger or the middle finger alone evoked topographically arranged activation foci in S1. Importantly, when co-activated, the index and middle finger RFs not only shrank during physical touch perception, but also during touch observation. Our data, therefore, indicate a similarity between the functional architecture of S1 during touch observation and physical touch perception with respect to single-digit topography and RF shrinkage. These results may allow the tentative conclusion that even primary somatosensory experiences, such as physical touch perception, can be shared amongst individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Kuehn
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany,
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