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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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2
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Morphology, Connectivity, and Encoding Features of Tactile and Motor Representations of the Fingers in the Human Precentral and Postcentral Gyrus. J Neurosci 2023; 43:1572-1589. [PMID: 36717227 PMCID: PMC10008061 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1976-21.2022] [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: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the tight coupling between sensory and motor processing for fine manipulation in humans, it is not yet totally clear which specific properties of the fingers are mapped in the precentral and postcentral gyrus. We used fMRI to compare the morphology, connectivity, and encoding of the motor and tactile finger representations (FRs) in the precentral and postcentral gyrus of 25 5-fingered participants (8 females). Multivoxel pattern and structural and functional connectivity analyses demonstrated the existence of distinct motor and tactile FRs within both the precentral and postcentral gyrus, integrating finger-specific motor and tactile information. Using representational similarity analysis, we found that the motor and tactile FRs in the sensorimotor cortex were described by the perceived structure of the hand better than by the actual hand anatomy or other functional models (finger kinematics, muscles synergies). We then studied a polydactyly individual (i.e., with a congenital 6-fingered hand) showing superior manipulation abilities and divergent anatomic-functional hand properties. The perceived hand model was still the best model for tactile representations in the precentral and postcentral gyrus, while finger kinematics better described motor representations in the precentral gyrus. We suggest that, under normal conditions (i.e., in subjects with a standard hand anatomy), the sensorimotor representations of the 5 fingers in humans converge toward a model of perceived hand anatomy, deviating from the real hand structure, as the best synthesis between functional and structural features of the hand.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Distinct motor and tactile finger representations exist in both the precentral and postcentral gyrus, supported by a finger-specific pattern of anatomic and functional connectivity across modalities. At the representational level, finger representations reflect the perceived structure of the hand, which might result from an adapting process harmonizing (i.e., uniformizing) the encoding of hand function and structure in the precentral and postcentral gyrus. The same analyses performed in an extremely rare polydactyly subject showed that the emergence of such representational geometry is also found in neuromechanical variants with different hand anatomy and function. However, the harmonization process across the precentral and postcentral gyrus might not be possible because of divergent functional-structural properties of the hand and associated superior manipulation abilities.
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3
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Tamè L, Limbu S, Harlow R, Parikh M, Longo MR. Size Constancy Mechanisms: Empirical Evidence from Touch. Vision (Basel) 2022; 6:vision6030040. [PMID: 35893757 PMCID: PMC9326730 DOI: 10.3390/vision6030040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have shown the presence of large anisotropies for tactile distance perception across several parts of the body. The tactile distance between two touches on the dorsum of the hand is perceived as larger when they are oriented mediolaterally (across the hand) than proximodistally (along the hand). This effect can be partially explained by the characteristics of primary somatosensory cortex representations. However, this phenomenon is significantly attenuated relative to differences in acuity and cortical magnification, suggesting a process of tactile size constancy. It is unknown whether the same kind of compensation also takes place when estimating the size of a continuous object. Here, we investigate whether the tactile anisotropy that typically emerges when participants have to estimate the distance between two touches is also present when a continuous object touches the skin and participants have to estimate its size. In separate blocks, participants judged which of two tactile distances or objects on the dorsum of their hand felt larger. One stimulation (first or second) was aligned with the proximodistal axis (along the hand) and the other with the mediolateral axis (across the hand). Results showed a clear anisotropy for distances between two distinct points, with across distances consistently perceived as larger than along distances, as in previous studies. Critically, however, this bias was significantly reduced or absent for judgments of the length of continuous objects. These results suggest that a tactile size constancy process is more effective when the tactile size of an object has to be approximated compared to when the distance between two touches has to be determined. The possible mechanism subserving these results is described and discussed. We suggest that a lateral inhibition mechanism, when an object touches the skin, provides information through the distribution of the inhibitory subfields of the RF about the shape of the tactile RF itself. Such a process allows an effective tactile size compensatory mechanism where a good match between the physical and perceptual dimensions of the object is achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Tamè
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP, UK
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; (S.L.); (R.H.); (M.P.)
- Correspondence: (L.T.); (M.R.L.)
| | - Suzuki Limbu
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; (S.L.); (R.H.); (M.P.)
| | - Rebecca Harlow
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; (S.L.); (R.H.); (M.P.)
| | - Mita Parikh
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; (S.L.); (R.H.); (M.P.)
| | - Matthew R. Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; (S.L.); (R.H.); (M.P.)
- Correspondence: (L.T.); (M.R.L.)
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4
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Bono D, Belyk M, Longo MR, Dick F. Beyond language: The unspoken sensory-motor representation of the tongue in non-primates, non-human and human primates. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104730. [PMID: 35691470 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The English idiom "on the tip of my tongue" commonly acknowledges that something is known, but it cannot be immediately brought to mind. This phrase accurately describes sensorimotor functions of the tongue, which are fundamental for many tongue-related behaviors (e.g., speech), but often neglected by scientific research. Here, we review a wide range of studies conducted on non-primates, non-human and human primates with the aim of providing a comprehensive description of the cortical representation of the tongue's somatosensory inputs and motor outputs across different phylogenetic domains. First, we summarize how the properties of passive non-noxious mechanical stimuli are encoded in the putative somatosensory tongue area, which has a conserved location in the ventral portion of the somatosensory cortex across mammals. Second, we review how complex self-generated actions involving the tongue are represented in more anterior regions of the putative somato-motor tongue area. Finally, we describe multisensory response properties of the primate and non-primate tongue area by also defining how the cytoarchitecture of this area is affected by experience and deafferentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Bono
- Birkbeck/UCL Centre for Neuroimaging, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK.
| | - Michel Belyk
- Department of Speech, Hearing, and Phonetic Sciences, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, 2 Wakefield Street, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Matthew R Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet St, London WC1E7HX, UK
| | - Frederic Dick
- Birkbeck/UCL Centre for Neuroimaging, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H0AP, UK; Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet St, London WC1E7HX, UK.
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5
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Oda H, Tsujinaka R, Fukuda S, Sawaguchi Y, Hiraoka K. Tactile perception of right middle fingertip suppresses excitability of motor cortex supplying right first dorsal interosseous muscle. Neuroscience 2022; 494:82-93. [PMID: 35588919 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.05.012] [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: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined whether tactile perception of the fingertip modulates excitability of the motor cortex supplying the intrinsic hand muscle and whether this modulation is specific to the fingertip stimulated and the muscle and hand tested. Tactile stimulation was given to one of the five fingertips in the left or right hand, and transcranial magnetic stimulation eliciting motor evoked potential in the first dorsal interosseous muscle (FDI) or abductor digiti minimi was given 200 ms after the onset of tactile stimulation. The corticospinal excitability of the FDI at rest was suppressed by the tactile stimulation of the right middle fingertip, but such suppression was absent for the other fingers stimulated and for the other muscle or hand tested. The persistence and amplitude of the F-wave was not significantly influenced by tactile stimulation of the fingertip in the right hand. These findings indicate that tactile perception of the right middle fingertip suppresses excitability of the motor cortex supplying the right FDI at rest. The suppression of corticospinal excitability was absent during tonic contraction of the right FDI, indicating that the motor execution process interrupts the tactile perception-induced suppression of motor cortical excitability supplying the right FDI. These findings are in line with a view that the tactile perception of the right middle finger induces surround inhibition of the motor cortex supplying the prime mover of the finger neighboring the stimulated finger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitoshi Oda
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Rehabilitation, Osaka Prefecture University, Habikino city, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryo Tsujinaka
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Rehabilitation, Osaka Prefecture University, Habikino city, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shiho Fukuda
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Rehabilitation, Osaka Prefecture University, Habikino city, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yasushi Sawaguchi
- Graduate School of Comprehensive Rehabilitation, Osaka Prefecture University, Habikino city, Osaka, Japan
| | - Koichi Hiraoka
- College of Health and Human Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Habikino city, Osaka, Japan.
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6
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Fabio C, Salemme R, Koun E, Farnè A, Miller LE. Alpha Oscillations Are Involved in Localizing Touch on Handheld Tools. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:675-686. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The sense of touch is not restricted to the body but can also extend to external objects. When we use a handheld tool to contact an object, we feel the touch on the tool and not in the hand holding the tool. The ability to perceive touch on a tool actually extends along its entire surface, allowing the user to accurately localize where it is touched similarly as they would on their body. Although the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to localize touch on the body have been largely investigated, those allowing to localize touch on a tool are still unknown. We aimed to fill this gap by recording the electroencephalography signal of participants while they localized tactile stimuli on a handheld rod. We focused on oscillatory activity in the alpha (7–14 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) ranges, as they have been previously linked to distinct spatial codes used to localize touch on the body. Beta activity reflects the mapping of touch in skin-based coordinates, whereas alpha activity reflects the mapping of touch in external space. We found that alpha activity was solely modulated by the location of tactile stimuli applied on a handheld rod. Source reconstruction suggested that this alpha power modulation was localized in a network of fronto-parietal regions previously implicated in higher-order tactile and spatial processing. These findings are the first to implicate alpha oscillations in tool-extended sensing and suggest an important role for processing touch in external space when localizing touch on a tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Fabio
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
| | - Romeo Salemme
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
| | - Eric Koun
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
- University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luke E. Miller
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
- Donders Institute for Brain, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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7
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Scarpina F, Fossataro C, Sebastiano AR, Bruni F, Scacchi M, Mauro A, Garbarini F. Behavioural evidence of altered sensory attenuation in obesity. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:2064-2072. [PMID: 34825612 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211065766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Body ownership (i.e., the conscious belief of owning a body) and sense of agency (i.e., being the agent of one's own movements) are part of a pre-reflective experience of bodily self, which grounds on low-level complex sensory-motor processes. Although previous literature had already investigated body ownership in obesity, sense of agency was never explored. Here, we exploited the sensory attenuation effect (i.e., an implicit marker of the sense of agency; SA effect) to investigate whether the sense of agency was altered in a sample of 18 individuals affected by obesity as compared with 18 healthy-weight individuals. In our experiment, participants were asked to rate the perceived intensity of self-generated and other-generated tactile stimuli. Healthy-weight individuals showed a significantly greater SA effect than participants affected by obesity. Indeed, while healthy-weight participants perceived self-generated stimuli as significantly less intense as compared to externally generated ones, this difference between stimuli was not reported by affected participants. Our results relative to the SA effect pinpointed an altered sense of agency in obesity. We discussed this finding within the motor control framework with reference to obesity. We encouraged future research to further explore such effect and its role in shaping the clinical features of obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Scarpina
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy.,"Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Carlotta Fossataro
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Bruni
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy
| | - Massimo Scacchi
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, U.O. di Medicina Generale, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy.,Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Mauro
- Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Ospedale San Giuseppe, U.O. di Neurologia e Neuroriabilitazione, Piancavallo (VCO), Italy.,"Rita Levi Montalcini" Department of Neurosciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
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8
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Tamè L, Tucciarelli R, Sadibolova R, Sereno MI, Longo MR. Reconstructing neural representations of tactile space. Neuroimage 2021; 229:117730. [PMID: 33454399 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychophysical experiments have demonstrated large and highly systematic perceptual distortions of tactile space. Such a space can be referred to our experience of the spatial organisation of objects, at representational level, through touch, in analogy with the familiar concept of visual space. We investigated the neural basis of tactile space by analysing activity patterns induced by tactile stimulation of nine points on a 3 × 3 square grid on the hand dorsum using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We used a searchlight approach within pre-defined regions of interests to compute the pairwise Euclidean distances between the activity patterns elicited by tactile stimulation. Then, we used multidimensional scaling to reconstruct tactile space at the neural level and compare it with skin space at the perceptual level. Our reconstructions of the shape of skin space in contralateral primary somatosensory and motor cortices reveal that it is distorted in a way that matches the perceptual shape of skin space. This suggests that early sensorimotor areas critically contribute to the distorted internal representation of tactile space on the hand dorsum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Tamè
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP, UK.
| | - Raffaele Tucciarelli
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Renata Sadibolova
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; Department of Psychology, Goldsmith, University of London, London, UK
| | - Martin I Sereno
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK; University College London, University of London, London, UK; San Diego State University, San Diego, USA
| | - Matthew R Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK.
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9
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Kanayama N, Hara M, Watanabe J, Kitada R, Sakamoto M, Yamawaki S. Controlled emotional tactile stimulation during functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 327:108393. [PMID: 31415843 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Revised: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tactile stimulation used to induce emotional responses is often not well-controlled. Replicating the same tactile stimulations across studies is difficult, compared to replicating visual and auditory modalities, which have standardized stimulus sets. Standardizing a stimulation method by replicating stimuli across studies is necessary to further elucidate emotional responses in neuroscience research using tactile stimulation. THE NEW METHOD We developed a tactile stimulation device. The device's ultrasonic motor and optical force sensor have the following criteria: (1) controls the physical property of stimuli, pressure, and stroking speed; (2) measures actual touch timing; (3) is safe to use in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner; and (4) produces low noise in electroencephalography (EEG) and MRI. RESULTS The noise level of the device's drive was sufficiently low. For the EEG experiment, we successfully used signal processing to diminish the commercial power supply noise. For functional MRI (fMRI) scans, we found <5% signal loss occurred during device rotation. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) We found no previous report about the noise level of a tactile stimulation device used to induce emotional responses during EEG and fMRI recordings. The signal loss rate was comparable with that of other robotic devices used in MRI scanners. Emotional feelings induced by this stimulation method were comparable with those elicited in other sensory modalities. CONCLUSIONS The developed device could be used for cognitive-affective neuroscience research when conducting EEG and fMRI scans. The device should aid in standardizing affective tactile stimulation for research in psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriaki Kanayama
- Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan; Center of KANSEI Innovation, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
| | - Masayuki Hara
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Junji Watanabe
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Ryo Kitada
- School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Maki Sakamoto
- Department of Informatics, The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeto Yamawaki
- Center of KANSEI Innovation, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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10
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Holmes NP, Tamè L. Locating primary somatosensory cortex in human brain stimulation studies: systematic review and meta-analytic evidence. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:152-162. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00614.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over human primary somatosensory cortex (S1), unlike over primary motor cortex (M1), does not produce an immediate, objective output. Researchers must therefore rely on one or more indirect methods to position the TMS coil over S1. The “gold standard” method of TMS coil positioning is to use individual functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (f/sMRI) alongside a stereotactic navigation system. In the absence of these facilities, however, one common method used to locate S1 is to find the scalp location that produces twitches in a hand muscle (e.g., the first dorsal interosseus, M1-FDI) and then move the coil posteriorly to target S1. There has been no systematic assessment of whether this commonly reported method of finding the hand area of S1 is optimal. To do this, we systematically reviewed 124 TMS studies targeting the S1 hand area and 95 fMRI studies involving passive finger and hand stimulation. Ninety-six TMS studies reported the scalp location assumed to correspond to S1-hand, which was on average 1.5–2 cm posterior to the functionally defined M1-hand area. Using our own scalp measurements combined with similar data from MRI and TMS studies of M1-hand, we provide the estimated scalp locations targeted in these TMS studies of the S1-hand. We also provide a summary of reported S1 coordinates for passive finger and hand stimulation in fMRI studies. We conclude that S1-hand is more lateral to M1-hand than assumed by the majority of TMS studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Paul Holmes
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Luigi Tamè
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, London, United Kingdom
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11
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Michels L, Dietz V, Schättin A, Schrafl-Altermatt M. Neuroplastic Changes in Older Adults Performing Cooperative Hand Movements. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:488. [PMID: 30618675 PMCID: PMC6300783 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine whether older adults use the same task-specific brain activation patterns during two different bimanual hand movement tasks as younger adults. Functional magnetic resonance brain imaging was performed in 18 younger (mean age: 30.3 ± 3.6 years) and 11 older adults (62.6 ± 6.8 years) during the execution of cooperative (mimicking opening a bottle) or non-cooperative (bimanual pro-/supination) hand movements. We expected to see a stronger task-specific involvement of the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) during cooperative hand movements in older compared to younger adults. However, S2 activation was present in both groups during the cooperative task and was only significantly stronger compared to the non-cooperative task in younger adults. In a whole brain-analysis, the contrast between older and younger adults revealed a hyperactivation of the bilateral dorsal premotor cortex (precentral gyrus), right thalamus, right frontal operculum, anterior cingulate cortex, and supplementary motor areas in older adults (p < 0.001), with some of them being visible after correcting for age. Age was positively associated with fMRI signal changes in these regions across the whole sample. Older adults showed reduced gray matter volume but not in regions showing task-related fMRI group differences. We also found an increase in functional connectivity between SMA, M1, thalamus, and precentral gyri in older adults. In contrast, younger adults showed hyperconnectivity between S2 and S1. We conclude that older compared to younger adults show age-related functional neuroplastic changes in brain regions involved in motor control and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Michels
- Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,MR-Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Volker Dietz
- Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Schättin
- Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland.,Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Miriam Schrafl-Altermatt
- Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland.,Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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12
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Sadibolova R, Tamè L, Longo MR. More than skin-deep: Integration of skin-based and musculoskeletal reference frames in localization of touch. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2018; 44:1672-1682. [PMID: 30160504 PMCID: PMC6205026 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The skin of the forearm is, in one sense, a flat 2-dimensional (2D) sheet, but in another sense approximately cylindrical, mirroring the 3-dimensional (3D) volumetric shape of the arm. The role of frames of reference based on the skin as a 2D sheet versus based on the musculoskeletal structure of the arm remains unclear. When we rotate the forearm from a pronated to a supinated posture, the skin on its surface is displaced. Thus, a marked location will slide with the skin across the underlying flesh, and the touch perceived at this location should follow this displacement if it is localized within a skin-based reference frame. We investigated, however, if the perceived tactile locations were also affected by the rearrangement in underlying musculoskeletal structure, that is, displaced medially and laterally on a pronated and supinated forearm, respectively. Participants pointed to perceived touches (Experiment 1), or marked them on a (3D) size-matched forearm on a computer screen (Experiment 2). The perceived locations were indeed displaced medially after forearm pronation in both response modalities. This misperception was reduced (Experiment 1), or absent altogether (Experiment 2) in the supinated posture when the actual stimulus grid moved laterally with the displaced skin. The grid was perceptually stretched at medial-lateral axis, and it was displaced distally, which suggest the influence of skin-based factors. Our study extends the tactile localization literature focused on the skin-based reference frame and on the effects of spatial positions of body parts by implicating the musculoskeletal factors in localization of touch on the body. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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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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Tamè L, Carr A, Longo MR. Vision of the body improves inter-hemispheric integration of tactile-motor responses. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2017; 175:21-27. [PMID: 28259727 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2016] [Revised: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory input from and motor output to the two sides of the body needs to be continuously integrated between the two cerebral hemispheres. This integration can be measured through its cost in terms of processing speed. In simple detection tasks, reaction times (RTs) are faster when stimuli are presented to the side of the body ipsilateral to the body part used to respond. This advantage - the contralateral-ipsilateral difference (also known as the crossed-uncrossed difference: CUD) - is thought to reflect inter-hemispheric interactions needed for sensorimotor information to be integrated between the two hemispheres. Several studies have shown that non-informative vision of the body enhances performance in tactile tasks. However, it is unknown whether the CUD can be similarly affected by vision. Here, we investigated whether the CUD is modulated by vision of the body (i.e., the stimulated hand) by presenting tactile stimuli unpredictably on the middle fingers when one hand was visible (i.e., either the right or left hand). Participants detected the stimulus and responded as fast as possible using either their left or right foot. Consistent with previous results, a clear CUD (5.8ms) was apparent on the unseen hand. Critically, however, no such effect was found on the hand that was visible (-2.2ms). Thus, when touch is delivered to a seen hand, the usual cost in processing speed of responding with a contralateral effector is eliminated. This result suggests that vision of the body improves the interhemispheric integration of tactile-motor responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Tamè
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Alex Carr
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew R Longo
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Ferrè ER, Sahani M, Haggard P. Subliminal stimulation and somatosensory signal detection. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2016; 170:103-11. [PMID: 27387873 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2016.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Only a small fraction of sensory signals is consciously perceived. The brain's perceptual systems may include mechanisms of feedforward inhibition that protect the cortex from subliminal noise, thus reserving cortical capacity and conscious awareness for significant stimuli. Here we provide a new view of these mechanisms based on signal detection theory, and gain control. We demonstrated that subliminal somatosensory stimulation decreased sensitivity for the detection of a subsequent somatosensory input, largely due to increased false alarm rates. By delivering the subliminal somatosensory stimulus and the to-be-detected somatosensory stimulus to different digits of the same hand, we show that this effect spreads across the sensory surface. In addition, subliminal somatosensory stimulation tended to produce an increased probability of responding "yes", whether the somatosensory stimulus was present or not. Our results suggest that subliminal stimuli temporarily reduce input gain, avoiding excessive responses to further small inputs. This gain control may be automatic, and may precede discriminative classification of inputs into signals or noise. Crucially, we found that subliminal inputs influenced false alarm rates only on blocks where the to-be-detected stimuli were present, and not on pre-test control blocks where they were absent. Participants appeared to adjust their perceptual criterion according to a statistical distribution of stimuli in the current context, with the presence of supraliminal stimuli having an important role in the criterion-setting process. These findings clarify the cognitive mechanisms that reserve conscious perception for salient and important signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Raffaella Ferrè
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Maneesh Sahani
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London, W1T4JG, UK
| | - Patrick Haggard
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
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Tamè L, Braun C, Holmes NP, Farnè A, Pavani F. Bilateral representations of touch in the primary somatosensory cortex. Cogn Neuropsychol 2016; 33:48-66. [PMID: 27314449 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2016.1159547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
According to current textbook knowledge, the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) supports unilateral tactile representations, whereas structures beyond SI, in particular the secondary somatosensory cortex (SII), support bilateral tactile representations. However, dexterous and well-coordinated bimanual motor tasks require early integration of bilateral tactile information. Sequential processing, first of unilateral and subsequently of bilateral sensory information, might not be sufficient to accomplish these tasks. This view of sequential processing in the somatosensory system might therefore be questioned, at least for demanding bimanual tasks. Evidence from the last 15 years is forcing a revision of this textbook notion. Studies in animals and humans indicate that SI is more than a simple relay for unilateral sensory information and, together with SII, contributes to the integration of somatosensory inputs from both sides of the body. Here, we review a series of recent works from our own and other laboratories in favour of interactions between tactile stimuli on the two sides of the body at early stages of processing. We focus on tactile processing, although a similar logic may also apply to other aspects of somatosensation. We begin by describing the basic anatomy and physiology of interhemispheric transfer, drawing on neurophysiological studies in animals and behavioural studies in humans that showed tactile interactions between body sides, both in healthy and in brain-damaged individuals. Then we describe the neural substrates of bilateral interactions in somatosensation as revealed by neurophysiological work in animals and neuroimaging studies in humans (i.e., functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation). Finally, we conclude with considerations on the dilemma of how efficiently integrating bilateral sensory information at early processing stages can coexist with more lateralized representations of somatosensory input, in the context of motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Tamè
- a Department of Psychological Sciences , Birkbeck, University of London , London , UK
| | - Christoph Braun
- b MEG-Center, University of Tübingen , Tübingen , Germany.,c Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN), University of Tübingen , Tübingen , Germany.,d Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento , Rovereto , Italy.,e Department of Psychological Sciences , University of Trento , Rovereto , Italy
| | | | - Alessandro Farnè
- g INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre , Lyon , France.,h University Claude Bernard Lyon I , Lyon , France
| | - Francesco Pavani
- d Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento , Rovereto , Italy.,e Department of Psychological Sciences , University of Trento , Rovereto , Italy.,g INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre , Lyon , France
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Cardini F, Longo MR. Congruency of body-related information induces somatosensory reorganization. Neuropsychologia 2016; 84:213-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2015] [Revised: 01/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Saito K, Onishi H, Miyaguchi S, Kotan S, Fujimoto S. Effect of Paired-Pulse Electrical Stimulation on the Activity of Cortical Circuits. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 9:671. [PMID: 26733847 PMCID: PMC4687412 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated the transient effect of short-duration paired-pulse electrical stimulation (ppES) on corticospinal excitability and the after-effect of long-duration ppES on excitability, short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI), and afferent facilitation (AF). METHODS A total of 28 healthy subjects participated in two different experiments. In Experiment 1, motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured in the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles before and immediately after short-duration ppES (5 s) at various inter-pulse intervals (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 15, 20, and 30 ms). In Experiment 2, MEPs, SAI, and AF were measured before, immediately, and 20 and 40 min after long-duration ppES (20 min, inter-pulse interval of 5 and 15 ms) and peripheral electrical stimulation (20 min, 10 and 20 Hz). RESULTS Short-duration ppES with inter-pulse intervals of 5 and 20 ms significantly increased MEP measured in APB but not in ADM. Long-duration ppES with an inter-pulse interval of 5 ms significantly decreased SAI but not MEPs in APB. In contrast, long-duration ppES did not affect ADM. CONCLUSION The afferent inputs induced by ppES-5 ms were effective for transiently increasing MEP and sustaining SAI reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kei Saito
- Department of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and WelfareNiigata, Japan; Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and WelfareNiigata, Japan
| | - Hideaki Onishi
- Department of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and WelfareNiigata, Japan; Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and WelfareNiigata, Japan
| | - Shota Miyaguchi
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare Niigata, Japan
| | - Shinichi Kotan
- Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare Niigata, Japan
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