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De Falco E, Solcà M, Bernasconi F, Babo-Rebelo M, Young N, Sammartino F, Tallon-Baudry C, Navarro V, Rezai AR, Krishna V, Blanke O. Single neurons in the thalamus and subthalamic nucleus process cardiac and respiratory signals in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316365121. [PMID: 38451949 PMCID: PMC10945861 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316365121] [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: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Visceral signals are constantly processed by our central nervous system, enable homeostatic regulation, and influence perception, emotion, and cognition. While visceral processes at the cortical level have been extensively studied using non-invasive imaging techniques, very few studies have investigated how this information is processed at the single neuron level, both in humans and animals. Subcortical regions, relaying signals from peripheral interoceptors to cortical structures, are particularly understudied and how visceral information is processed in thalamic and subthalamic structures remains largely unknown. Here, we took advantage of intraoperative microelectrode recordings in patients undergoing surgery for deep brain stimulation (DBS) to investigate the activity of single neurons related to cardiac and respiratory functions in three subcortical regions: ventral intermedius nucleus (Vim) and ventral caudalis nucleus (Vc) of the thalamus, and subthalamic nucleus (STN). We report that the activity of a large portion of the recorded neurons (about 70%) was modulated by either the heartbeat, the cardiac inter-beat interval, or the respiration. These cardiac and respiratory response patterns varied largely across neurons both in terms of timing and their kind of modulation. A substantial proportion of these visceral neurons (30%) was responsive to more than one of the tested signals, underlining specialization and integration of cardiac and respiratory signals in STN and thalamic neurons. By extensively describing single unit activity related to cardiorespiratory function in thalamic and subthalamic neurons, our results highlight the major role of these subcortical regions in the processing of visceral signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela De Falco
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Neuro-X Institute and Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute–West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV26505
| | - Marco Solcà
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Neuro-X Institute and Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva1205, Switzerland
| | - Fosco Bernasconi
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Neuro-X Institute and Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Mariana Babo-Rebelo
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Neuro-X Institute and Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Young
- Medical Department, SpecialtyCare, Brentwood, TN37027
| | - Francesco Sammartino
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
| | - Catherine Tallon-Baudry
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, École normale supérieure-Paris Sciences et Lettres University, Inserm, Paris75005, France
| | - Vincent Navarro
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute—Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Inserm, CNRS, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Epilepsy Unit, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris75013, France
| | - Ali R. Rezai
- Department of Neurosurgery, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute—West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV26505
| | - Vibhor Krishna
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Durham, NC27516
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Neuro-X Institute and Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne1015, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva1205, Switzerland
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Kromer JA, Tass PA. Synaptic reshaping of plastic neuronal networks by periodic multichannel stimulation with single-pulse and burst stimuli. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010568. [PMID: 36327232 PMCID: PMC9632832 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Synaptic dysfunction is associated with several brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Utilizing synaptic plasticity, brain stimulation is capable of reshaping synaptic connectivity. This may pave the way for novel therapies that specifically counteract pathological synaptic connectivity. For instance, in PD, novel multichannel coordinated reset stimulation (CRS) was designed to counteract neuronal synchrony and down-regulate pathological synaptic connectivity. CRS was shown to entail long-lasting therapeutic aftereffects in PD patients and related animal models. This is in marked contrast to conventional deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy, where PD symptoms return shortly after stimulation ceases. In the present paper, we study synaptic reshaping by periodic multichannel stimulation (PMCS) in networks of leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neurons with spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). During PMCS, phase-shifted periodic stimulus trains are delivered to segregated neuronal subpopulations. Harnessing STDP, PMCS leads to changes of the synaptic network structure. We found that the PMCS-induced changes of the network structure depend on both the phase lags between stimuli and the shape of individual stimuli. Single-pulse stimuli and burst stimuli with low intraburst frequency down-regulate synapses between neurons receiving stimuli simultaneously. In contrast, burst stimuli with high intraburst frequency up-regulate these synapses. We derive theoretical approximations of the stimulation-induced network structure. This enables us to formulate stimulation strategies for inducing a variety of network structures. Our results provide testable hypotheses for future pre-clinical and clinical studies and suggest that periodic multichannel stimulation may be suitable for reshaping plastic neuronal networks to counteract pathological synaptic connectivity. Furthermore, we provide novel insight on how the stimulus type may affect the long-lasting outcome of conventional DBS. This may strongly impact parameter adjustment procedures for clinical DBS, which, so far, primarily focused on acute effects of stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justus A Kromer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Peter A Tass
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
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Pfeifer KJ, Kromer JA, Cook AJ, Hornbeck T, Lim EA, Mortimer BJP, Fogarty AS, Han SS, Dhall R, Halpern CH, Tass PA. Coordinated Reset Vibrotactile Stimulation Induces Sustained Cumulative Benefits in Parkinson's Disease. Front Physiol 2021; 12:624317. [PMID: 33889086 PMCID: PMC8055937 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.624317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Abnormal synchronization of neuronal activity in dopaminergic circuits is related to motor impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD). Vibrotactile coordinated reset (vCR) fingertip stimulation aims to counteract excessive synchronization and induce sustained unlearning of pathologic synaptic connectivity and neuronal synchrony. Here, we report two clinical feasibility studies that examine the effect of regular and noisy vCR stimulation on PD motor symptoms. Additionally, in one clinical study (study 1), we examine cortical beta band power changes in the sensorimotor cortex. Lastly, we compare these clinical results in relation to our computational findings. METHODS Study 1 examines six PD patients receiving noisy vCR stimulation and their cortical beta power changes after 3 months of daily therapy. Motor evaluations and at-rest electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were assessed off medication pre- and post-noisy vCR. Study 2 follows three patients for 6+ months, two of whom received daily regular vCR and one patient from study 1 who received daily noisy vCR. Motor evaluations were taken at baseline, and follow-up visits were done approximately every 3 months. Computationally, in a network of leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neurons with spike timing-dependent plasticity, we study the differences between regular and noisy vCR by using a stimulus model that reproduces experimentally observed central neuronal phase locking. RESULTS Clinically, in both studies, we observed significantly improved motor ability. EEG recordings observed from study 1 indicated a significant decrease in off-medication cortical sensorimotor high beta power (21-30 Hz) at rest after 3 months of daily noisy vCR therapy. Computationally, vCR and noisy vCR cause comparable parameter-robust long-lasting synaptic decoupling and neuronal desynchronization. CONCLUSION In these feasibility studies of eight PD patients, regular vCR and noisy vCR were well tolerated, produced no side effects, and delivered sustained cumulative improvement of motor performance, which is congruent with our computational findings. In study 1, reduction of high beta band power over the sensorimotor cortex may suggest noisy vCR is effectively modulating the beta band at the cortical level, which may play a role in improved motor ability. These encouraging therapeutic results enable us to properly plan a proof-of-concept study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina J. Pfeifer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Justus A. Kromer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Alexander J. Cook
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Traci Hornbeck
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Erika A. Lim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | | | - Adam S. Fogarty
- Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Summer S. Han
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
- Quantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Rohit Dhall
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders, Department of Neurology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Casey H. Halpern
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Peter A. Tass
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
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Tass PA. Vibrotactile Coordinated Reset Stimulation for the Treatment of Neurological Diseases: Concepts and Device Specifications. Cureus 2017; 9:e1535. [PMID: 28983444 PMCID: PMC5624565 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.1535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Coordinated reset stimulation (CRS) consists of spatiotemporal sequences of stimuli delivered to different sites in the brain. Computationally, it was shown that by achieving an unlearning of abnormal synaptic connectivity, CRS can cause a long-lasting reduction of pathological synchronization, a hallmark feature of Parkinson’s disease and other brain disorders. Pre-clinical and proof of concept clinical studies in parkinsonian monkeys and patients showed that CRS applied through deep brain stimulation electrodes implanted in the subthalamic nucleus resulted in cumulative and long-lasting therapeutic effects along with a reduction of beta band oscillations. To apply CRS noninvasively by vibrotactile stimulation delivered to different fingertips, we present three different possible stimulation concepts. These different CRS approaches target different mechanoreceptors and related stimulus mechanisms. The different approaches are based on the diverse physiology of mechanoreceptors and dynamic CRS principles. Required stimulation parameters and specifications provide a guideline for technically implementing vibrotactile CRS during clinical tests.
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Chien JH, Korzeniewska A, Colloca L, Campbell C, Dougherty P, Lenz F. Human Thalamic Somatosensory Nucleus (Ventral Caudal, Vc) as a Locus for Stimulation by INPUTS from Tactile, Noxious and Thermal Sensors on an Active Prosthesis. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2017; 17:E1197. [PMID: 28538681 PMCID: PMC5492124 DOI: 10.3390/s17061197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The forebrain somatic sensory locus for input from sensors on the surface of an active prosthesis is an important component of the Brain Machine Interface. We now review the neuronal responses to controlled cutaneous stimuli and the sensations produced by Threshold Stimulation at Microampere current levels (TMIS) in such a locus, the human thalamic Ventral Caudal nucleus (Vc). The responses of these neurons to tactile stimuli mirror those for the corresponding class of tactile mechanoreceptor fiber in the peripheral nerve, and TMIS can evoke sensations like those produced by the stimuli that optimally activate each class. These neuronal responses show a somatotopic arrangement from lateral to medial in the sequence: leg, arm, face and intraoral structures. TMIS evoked sensations show a much more detailed organization into anterior posteriorly oriented rods, approximately 300 microns diameter, that represent smaller parts of the body, such as parts of individual digits. Neurons responding to painful and thermal stimuli are most dense around the posterior inferior border of Vc, and TMIS evoked pain sensations occur in one of two patterns: (i) pain evoked regardless of the frequency or number of spikes in a burst of TMIS; and (ii) the description and intensity of the sensation changes with increasing frequencies and numbers. In patients with major injuries leading to loss of somatic sensory input, TMIS often evokes sensations in the representation of parts of the body with loss of sensory input, e.g., the phantom after amputation. Some patients with these injuries have ongoing pain and pain evoked by TMIS of the representation in those parts of the body. Therefore, thalamic TMIS may produce useful patterned somatotopic feedback to the CNS from sensors on an active prosthesis that is sometimes complicated by TMIS evoked pain in the representation of those parts of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jui Hong Chien
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Anna Korzeniewska
- Departments of Neurology and Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, and Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 20742, USA.
| | - Claudia Campbell
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Patrick Dougherty
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, M.D. Anderson Hospital, Houston, TX 77054, USA.
| | - Frederick Lenz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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Quiroz-González S, Torres-Castillo S, López-Gómez RE, Jiménez Estrada I. Acupuncture Points and Their Relationship with Multireceptive Fields of Neurons. J Acupunct Meridian Stud 2017; 10:81-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jams.2017.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
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Delhaye BP, Saal HP, Bensmaia SJ. Key considerations in designing a somatosensory neuroprosthesis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 110:402-408. [PMID: 27815182 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2016.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2016] [Revised: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, a consensus has emerged that somatosensory feedback needs to be provided for upper limb neuroprostheses to be useful. An increasingly promising approach to sensory restoration is to electrically stimulate neurons along the somatosensory neuraxis to convey information about the state of the prosthetic limb and about contact with objects. To date, efforts toward artificial sensory feedback have consisted mainly of demonstrating that some sensory information could be conveyed using a small number of stimulation patterns, generally delivered through single electrodes. However impressive these achievements are, results from different studies are hard to compare, as each research team implements different stimulation patterns and tests the elicited sensations differently. A critical question is whether different stimulation strategies will generalize from contrived laboratory settings to activities of daily living. Here, we lay out some key specifications that an artificial somatosensory channel should meet, discuss how different approaches should be evaluated, and caution about looming challenges that the field of sensory restoration will face.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit P Delhaye
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, United States
| | - Hannes P Saal
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, United States
| | - Sliman J Bensmaia
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, United States.
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Schmid AC, Chien JH, Greenspan JD, Garonzik I, Weiss N, Ohara S, Lenz FA. Neuronal responses to tactile stimuli and tactile sensations evoked by microstimulation in the human thalamic principal somatic sensory nucleus (ventral caudal). J Neurophysiol 2016; 115:2421-33. [PMID: 26864759 PMCID: PMC4922463 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00611.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2015] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The normal organization and plasticity of the cutaneous core of the thalamic principal somatosensory nucleus (ventral caudal, Vc) have been studied by single-neuron recordings and microstimulation in patients undergoing awake stereotactic operations for essential tremor (ET) without apparent somatic sensory abnormality and in patients with dystonia or chronic pain secondary to major nervous system injury. In patients with ET, most Vc neurons responded to one of the four stimuli, each of which optimally activates one mechanoreceptor type. Sensations evoked by microstimulation were similar to those evoked by the optimal stimulus only among rapidly adapting neurons. In patients with ET, Vc was highly segmented somatotopically, and vibration, movement, pressure, and sharp sensations were usually evoked by microstimulation at separate sites in Vc. In patients with conditions including spinal cord transection, amputation, or dystonia, RFs were mismatched with projected fields more commonly than in patients with ET. The representation of the border of the anesthetic area (e.g., stump) or of the dystonic limb was much larger than that of the same part of the body in patients with ET. This review describes the organization and reorganization of human Vc neuronal activity in nervous system injury and dystonia and then proposes basic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Christine Schmid
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; and Brain Imaging and NeuroStimulation (BINS) Laboratory, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jui-Hong Chien
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Joel D Greenspan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; and
| | - Ira Garonzik
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Nirit Weiss
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Shinji Ohara
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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Liu CC, Chien JH, Chang YW, Kim JH, Anderson WS, Lenz FA. Functional role of induced gamma oscillatory responses in processing noxious and innocuous sensory events in humans. Neuroscience 2015; 310:389-400. [PMID: 26408986 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.09.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2015] [Revised: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Gamma time-frequency responses (TFRs) induced by painful laser in the contralateral primary somatosensory (SI) cortex have been shown to correlate with perceived pain-intensity in human. Given the functional roles of gamma TFRs in the cortical spaces, it remains unclear whether such a relationship is sustained for other brain regions where the laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) are presented. In this study, we delivered the painful laser pluses at random pain-intensity levels (i.e. strong, medium and weak) in a single train to the dorsal hand of six patients with uncontrolled epilepsy. The laser stimulus produced a painful pinprick sensation by activating nociceptors located in the superficial layers of the skin. For each patient, arrays of >64 subdural electrodes were implanted directly covering the contralateral SI, parasylvian (PS) and medial frontal (MF) cortices to study the stimulus related gamma (TFRs) in the neocortex. In addition, using the same stimulation paradigm, the modality specificity of gamma TFRs was further examined by applying innocuous vibrotactile stimuli to the same regions of the dorsal hand in a separated group of five patients. Our results showed that gamma TFRs are not modality specific, but the largest gamma TFRs were consistently found within the SI region and noxious laser elicited significantly stronger gamma TFRs than innocuous nonpainful vibratory stimuli. Furthermore, stronger pain induced stronger gamma TFRs in the cortices of SI (r=0.4, p<0.001) and PS (r=0.29, p=0.005). Given that potentially harmful noxious stimulus would automatically capture greater attention than the innocuous ones, our results support the hypothesis that the degree of SI and PS gamma TFRs is associated with an attentional drive provoked by painful stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- C C Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - J H Chien
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Y W Chang
- Boehringer Ingelheim, Ridgefield, CT, USA
| | - J H Kim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - W S Anderson
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - F A Lenz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Peters RM, Staibano P, Goldreich D. Tactile orientation perception: an ideal observer analysis of human psychophysical performance in relation to macaque area 3b receptive fields. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:3076-96. [PMID: 26354318 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00631.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 09/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to resolve the orientation of edges is crucial to daily tactile and sensorimotor function, yet the means by which edge perception occurs is not well understood. Primate cortical area 3b neurons have diverse receptive field (RF) spatial structures that may participate in edge orientation perception. We evaluated five candidate RF models for macaque area 3b neurons, previously recorded while an oriented bar contacted the monkey's fingertip. We used a Bayesian classifier to assign each neuron a best-fit RF structure. We generated predictions for human performance by implementing an ideal observer that optimally decoded stimulus-evoked spike counts in the model neurons. The ideal observer predicted a saturating reduction in bar orientation discrimination threshold with increasing bar length. We tested 24 humans on an automated, precision-controlled bar orientation discrimination task and observed performance consistent with that predicted. We next queried the ideal observer to discover the RF structure and number of cortical neurons that best matched each participant's performance. Human perception was matched with a median of 24 model neurons firing throughout a 1-s period. The 10 lowest-performing participants were fit with RFs lacking inhibitory sidebands, whereas 12 of the 14 higher-performing participants were fit with RFs containing inhibitory sidebands. Participants whose discrimination improved as bar length increased to 10 mm were fit with longer RFs; those who performed well on the 2-mm bar, with narrower RFs. These results suggest plausible RF features and computational strategies underlying tactile spatial perception and may have implications for perceptual learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M Peters
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Phillip Staibano
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Goldreich
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; McMaster Integrative Neuroscience Discovery and Study, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; and McMaster University Origins Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Touch is a team effort: interplay of submodalities in cutaneous sensibility. Trends Neurosci 2014; 37:689-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2014.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Revised: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 08/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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