1
|
Kamiya C, Iwatani Y, Yoshimoto S, Taniguchi H, Kitabatake Y, Kagitani-Shimono K. Inter-hemispheric somatosensory coherence and parental stress in hypersensitivity at 8 months old: An electroencephalography study. Clin Neurophysiol 2024; 163:185-196. [PMID: 38759514 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2024.04.015] [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: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Infant hypersensitivity affects daily challenges and parental stress. Although the crucial role of tactile sensation in infants' brain function has been highlighted, hypersensitive infants and their families lack support. Electroencephalography may be useful for understanding hypersensitivity traits. We investigated the relationship between infant perceptual hypersensitivity and parental stress, somatosensory-evoked potential (SEP), and magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) in the general population. METHODS Infants aged 8 months (n = 63) were evaluated for hypersensitivity and parental stress using a questionnaire and for cortical activity using electroencephalography. Vibration stimuli were applied to the infant's left foot. SEP components that peaked around 150 ms (N2) and at 200 ms (P2) after stimulus onset were evaluated by amplitude and latency at the midline electrode (Cz) and MSC between the midline electrodes (C3-C4). RESULTS Parental stress was associated with infant hypersensitivity. The latency of Cz was delayed, and C3-C4 delta MSC was high in infants with hypersensitivity. CONCLUSIONS Increasing inter-hemispheric MSC synchrony in the stimulated condition in infants with hypersensitivity suggested atypical somatosensory cortical function. SIGNIFICANCE These findings contribute to identifying, understanding the mechanisms of, and developing effective coping strategies for early-stage hypersensitivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiori Kamiya
- Division of Developmental Neuroscience, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, 2-2, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoshiko Iwatani
- Division of Developmental Neuroscience, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, 2-2, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture 565-0871, Japan; Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, 2-2, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture 565-0871, Japan; Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-15, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Yoshimoto
- Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
| | - Hidetoshi Taniguchi
- Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-15, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, 565-0871, Japan; Izumi Pediatric and Rehabilitation Clinic, 2-1-1, Higashiyama, Kaizuka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
| | - Yasuji Kitabatake
- Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-15, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Kuriko Kagitani-Shimono
- Division of Developmental Neuroscience, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, 2-2, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture 565-0871, Japan; Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, 2-2, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture 565-0871, Japan; Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-15, Yamadaoka, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, 565-0871, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chen Y, Green HL, Berman JI, Putt ME, Otten K, Mol KL, McNamee M, Allison O, Kuschner ES, Kim M, Bloy L, Liu S, Yount T, Roberts TPL, Edgar JC. Functional and structural maturation of auditory cortex from 2 months to 2 years old. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.05.597426. [PMID: 38895425 PMCID: PMC11185738 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.05.597426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
In school-age children, the myelination of the auditory radiation thalamocortical pathway is associated with the latency of auditory evoked responses, with the myelination of thalamocortical axons facilitating the rapid propagation of acoustic information. Little is known regarding this auditory system function-structure association in infants and toddlers. The present study tested the hypothesis that maturation of auditory radiation white-matter microstructure (e.g., fractional anisotropy (FA); measured using diffusion-weighted MRI) is associated with the latency of the infant auditory response (P2m measured using magnetoencephalography, MEG) in a cross-sectional (2 to 24 months) as well as longitudinal cohort (2 to 29 months) of typically developing infants and toddlers. In the cross-sectional sample, non-linear maturation of P2m latency and auditory radiation diffusion measures were observed. After removing the variance associated with age in both P2m latency and auditory radiation diffusion measures, auditory radiation still accounted for significant variance in P2m latency. In the longitudinal sample, latency and FA associations could be observed at the level of a single child. Findings provide strong support for a contribution of auditory radiation white matter to rapid cortical auditory encoding processes in infants.
Collapse
|
3
|
Zandvoort CS, van der Vaart M, Robinson S, Usman F, Schmidt Mellado G, Evans Fry R, Worley A, Adams E, Slater R, Baxter L, de Vos M, Hartley C. Sensory event-related potential morphology predicts age in premature infants. Clin Neurophysiol 2024; 157:61-72. [PMID: 38064929 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2023.11.007] [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: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated whether sensory-evoked cortical potentials could be used to estimate the age of an infant. Such a model could be used to identify infants who deviate from normal neurodevelopment. METHODS Infants aged between 28- and 40-weeks post-menstrual age (PMA) (166 recording sessions in 96 infants) received trains of visual and tactile stimuli. Neurodynamic response functions for each stimulus were derived using principal component analysis and a machine learning model trained and validated to predict infant age. RESULTS PMA could be predicted accurately from the magnitude of the evoked responses (training set mean absolute error and 95% confidence intervals: 1.41 [1.14; 1.74] weeks,p = 0.0001; test set mean absolute error: 1.55 [1.21; 1.95] weeks,p = 0.0002). Moreover, we show that their predicted age (their brain age) is correlated with a measure known to relate to maturity of the nervous system and is linked to long-term neurodevelopment. CONCLUSIONS Sensory-evoked potentials are predictive of age in premature infants and brain age deviations are related to biologically and clinically meaningful individual differences in nervous system maturation. SIGNIFICANCE This model could be used to detect abnormal development of infants' response to sensory stimuli in their environment and may be predictive of neurodevelopmental outcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Coen S Zandvoort
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Shellie Robinson
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Fatima Usman
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Ria Evans Fry
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alan Worley
- Newborn Care Unit, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Eleri Adams
- Newborn Care Unit, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Rebeccah Slater
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Luke Baxter
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Maarten de Vos
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), STADIUS Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Development and Regeneration, University Hospitals Leuven, Child Neurology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Caroline Hartley
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Lönnberg P, Pihko E, Lauronen L, Nurminen J, Andersson S, Metsäranta M, Lano A, Nevalainen P. Secondary somatosensory cortex evoked responses and 6-year neurodevelopmental outcome in extremely preterm children. Clin Neurophysiol 2021; 132:1572-1583. [PMID: 34023633 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2021.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We assessed in extremely preterm born (EPB) children whether secondary somatosensory cortex (SII) responses recorded with magnetoencephalography (MEG) at term-equivalent age (TEA) correlate with neurodevelopmental outcome at age 6 years. Secondly, we assessed whether SII responses differ between 6-year-old EPB and term-born (TB) children. METHODS 39 EPB children underwent MEG with tactile stimulation at TEA. At age 6 years, 32 EPB and 26 TB children underwent MEG including a sensorimotor task requiring attention and motor inhibition. SII responses to tactile stimulation were modeled with equivalent current dipoles. Neurological outcome, motor competence, and general cognitive ability were prospectively evaluated at age 6 years. RESULTS Unilaterally absent SII response at TEA was associated with abnormal motor competence in 6-year-old EPB children (p = 0.03). At age 6 years, SII responses were bilaterally detectable in most EPB (88%) and TB (92%) children (group comparison, p = 0.69). Motor inhibition was associated with decreased SII peak latencies in TB children, but EPB children lacked this effect (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Unilateral absence of an SII response at TEA predicted poorer motor outcome in EPB children. SIGNIFICANCE Neurophysiological methods may provide new means for outcome prognostication in EPB children.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Piia Lönnberg
- Child Neurology, New Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Elina Pihko
- BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Leena Lauronen
- Clinical Neurophysiology, New Children's Hospital, HUS Medical Imaging Center, HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jussi Nurminen
- BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sture Andersson
- Pediatrics, New Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marjo Metsäranta
- Pediatrics, New Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aulikki Lano
- Child Neurology, New Children's Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Päivi Nevalainen
- BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Clinical Neurophysiology, New Children's Hospital, HUS Medical Imaging Center, HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Whitehead K, Papadelis C, Laudiano-Dray MP, Meek J, Fabrizi L. The Emergence of Hierarchical Somatosensory Processing in Late Prematurity. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:2245-2260. [PMID: 30843584 PMCID: PMC6458926 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The somatosensory system has a hierarchical organization. Information processing increases in complexity from the contralateral primary sensory cortex to bilateral association cortices and this is represented by a sequence of somatosensory-evoked potentials recorded with scalp electroencephalographies. The mammalian somatosensory system matures over the early postnatal period in a rostro-caudal progression, but little is known about the development of hierarchical information processing in the human infant brain. To investigate the normal human development of the somatosensory hierarchy, we recorded potentials evoked by mechanical stimulation of hands and feet in 34 infants between 34 and 42 weeks corrected gestational age, with median postnatal age of 3 days. We show that the shortest latency potential was evoked for both hands and feet at all ages with a contralateral somatotopic source in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). However, the longer latency responses, localized in SI and beyond, matured with age. They gradually emerged for the foot and, although always present for the hand, showed a shift from purely contralateral to bilateral hemispheric activation. These results demonstrate the rostro-caudal development of human somatosensory hierarchy and suggest that the development of its higher tiers is complete only just before the time of normal birth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K Whitehead
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - C Papadelis
- Laboratory of Children's Brain Dynamics, Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M P Laudiano-Dray
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - J Meek
- Neonatal Unit, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College London Hospitals, London, UK
| | - L Fabrizi
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Zarei A, Lontis R, Jensen W. Modulation of Cortical Activity by Selective Steady-State Somatosensory Stimulation. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2020; 2019:421-424. [PMID: 31945928 DOI: 10.1109/embc.2019.8856443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Phantom limb pain (PLP) represents a major debilitating condition for amputees. No effective therapy has been reported. Non-painful surface electrical stimulation may induce temporary significant alleviation of PLP. Preliminary results of a study attempting to design a methodology for delivery and evaluation of possible quantifiable effects at the cortical level of steady-state surface stimulation are presented for two healthy subjects. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) were evaluated before and after delivery of a steady-state stimulus applied at wrist along the median nerve. Characterization of evoked sensation induced in hand by the steady-state stimuli was performed. The sensory input artificially generated by the steady-state stimuli influenced cortical activation reflected in changes in N1 and P2 components of SEP. N1 suppression and changes in P2 amplitude after steady state stimulation between 1 to 7 minutes were observed. Analysis of changes in SEP components in a larger population may contribute to defining markers of temporary cortical plastic changes driven by steady-state stimuli possibly assessing the efficacy of these stimuli when attempting to reverse cortical plastic changes following amputation and relief of PLP upon specific delivery through surface electrical stimulation in the periphery.
Collapse
|
7
|
Whitehead K, Jones L, Laudiano-Dray MP, Meek J, Fabrizi L. Altered cortical processing of somatosensory input in pre-term infants who had high-grade germinal matrix-intraventricular haemorrhage. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 25:102095. [PMID: 31835239 PMCID: PMC6920135 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Infants who had GM-IVH recruit different cortical sources following foot stimulation. Results indicate restructuring of somatosensory processing during the weeks after GM-IVH. GM-IVH is more detrimental for lower than upper limb somatosensory processing.
High-grade (large) germinal matrix-intraventricular haemorrhage (GM-IVH) is one of the most common causes of somatomotor neurodisability in pre-term infants. GM-IVH presents during the first postnatal week and can impinge on somatosensory circuits resulting in aberrant somatosensory cortical events straight after injury. Subsequently, somatosensory circuits undergo significant plastic changes, sometimes allowing the reinstatement of a somatosensory cortical response. However, it is not known whether this restructuring results in a full recovery of somatosensory functions. To investigate this, we compared somatosensory responses to mechanical stimulation measured with 18-channels EEG between infants who had high-grade GM-IVH (with ventricular dilatation and/or intraparenchymal lesion; n = 7 studies from 6 infants; mean corrected gestational age = 33 weeks; mean postnatal age = 56 days) and age-matched controls (n = 9 studies from 8 infants; mean corrected gestational age = 32 weeks; mean postnatal age = 36 days). We showed that infants who had high-grade GM-IVH did not recruit the same cortical source configuration following stimulation of the foot, but their response to stimulation of the hand resembled that of controls. These results show that somatosensory cortical circuits are reinstated in infants who had GM-IVH, during the several weeks after injury, but remain different from those of infants without brain injury. An important next step will be to investigate whether these evidences of neural reorganisation predict neurodevelopmental outcome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley Whitehead
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Laura Jones
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Maria Pureza Laudiano-Dray
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Judith Meek
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College London Hospitals, London WC1E 6BD, United Kingdom.
| | - Lorenzo Fabrizi
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Chen YH, Saby J, Kuschner E, Gaetz W, Edgar JC, Roberts TPL. Magnetoencephalography and the infant brain. Neuroimage 2019; 189:445-458. [PMID: 30685329 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that provides whole-head measures of neural activity with millisecond temporal resolution. Over the last three decades, MEG has been used for assessing brain activity, most commonly in adults. MEG has been used less often to examine neural function during early development, in large part due to the fact that infant whole-head MEG systems have only recently been developed. In this review, an overview of infant MEG studies is provided, focusing on the period from birth to three years. The advantages of MEG for measuring neural activity in infants are highlighted (See Box 1), including the ability to assess activity in brain (source) space rather than sensor space, thus allowing direct assessment of neural generator activity. Recent advances in MEG hardware and source analysis are also discussed. As the review indicates, efforts in this area demonstrate that MEG is a promising technology for studying the infant brain. As a noninvasive technology, with emerging hardware providing the necessary sensitivity, an expected deliverable is the capability for longitudinal infant MEG studies evaluating the developmental trajectory (maturation) of neural activity. It is expected that departures from neuro-typical trajectories will offer early detection and prognosis insights in infants and toddlers at-risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, thus paving the way for early targeted interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Han Chen
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Joni Saby
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Emily Kuschner
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - William Gaetz
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - J Christopher Edgar
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Timothy P L Roberts
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Dept. of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Donadio A, Whitehead K, Gonzalez F, Wilhelm E, Formica D, Meek J, Fabrizi L, Burdet E. A novel sensor design for accurate measurement of facial somatosensation in pre-term infants. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0207145. [PMID: 30444872 PMCID: PMC6239299 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial somatosensory feedback is critical for breastfeeding in the first days of life. However, its development has never been investigated in humans. Here we develop a new interface to measure facial somatosensation in newborn infants. The novel system allows to measure neuronal responses to touching the face of the subject by synchronously recording scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and the force applied by the experimenter. This is based on a dedicated force transducer that can be worn on the finger underneath a clinical nitrile glove and linked to a commercial EEG acquisition system. The calibrated device measures the pressure applied by the investigator when tapping the skin concurrently with the resulting brain response. With this system, we were able to demonstrate that taps of 192 mN (mean) reliably elicited facial somatosensory responses in 7 pre-term infants. These responses had a time course similar to those following limbs stimulation, but more lateral topographical distribution consistent with body representations in primary somatosensory areas. The method introduced can therefore be used to reliably measure facial somatosensory responses in vulnerable infants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Donadio
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Roma, Italy
| | - Kimberley Whitehead
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, Gower Street, United Kingdom
| | - Franck Gonzalez
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, South Kensington Campus, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elisabeth Wilhelm
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, South Kensington Campus, London, United Kingdom
| | - Domenico Formica
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Roma, Italy
| | - Judith Meek
- Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Obstetric Wing, University College London Hospitals, United Kingdom
| | - Lorenzo Fabrizi
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, Gower Street, United Kingdom
| | - Etienne Burdet
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, South Kensington Campus, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Meltzoff AN, Ramírez RR, Saby JN, Larson E, Taulu S, Marshall PJ. Infant brain responses to felt and observed touch of hands and feet: an MEG study. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12651. [PMID: 29333688 PMCID: PMC6045975 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
There is growing interest concerning the ways in which the human body, both one's own and that of others, is represented in the developing human brain. In two experiments with 7-month-old infants, we employed advances in infant magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain imaging to address novel questions concerning body representations in early development. Experiment 1 evaluated the spatiotemporal organization of infants' brain responses to being touched. A punctate touch to infants' hands and feet produced significant activation in the hand and foot areas of contralateral primary somatosensory cortex as well as in other parietal and frontal areas. Experiment 2 explored infant brain responses to visually perceiving another person's hand or foot being touched. Results showed significant activation in early visual regions and also in regions thought to be involved in multisensory body and self-other processing. Furthermore, observed touch of the hand and foot activated the infant's own primary somatosensory cortex, although less consistently than felt touch. These findings shed light on aspects of early social cognition, including action imitation, which may build, at least in part, on infant neural representations that map equivalences between the bodies of self and other.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew N. Meltzoff
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rey R. Ramírez
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Joni N. Saby
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Eric Larson
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Samu Taulu
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|