Cortical processing of near-threshold tactile stimuli: An MEG study

Wühle, Anja; Mertiens, Lena; Rüter, Johannes; Ostwald, Dirk; Braun, Christoph

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.00964.x

Cited by 28 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Certainly, our study holds some limitations; for example, it could be stated that the adaptation of intensity on a trial-by-trial basis for maintaining a balance between perceptual states leads to a systematic difference in physical intensities between the conditions. Although this is indeed the case on average, Wühle et al (17) were able to show that the within-condition variability is significantly higher than between-condition variability, thus showing that the overlap is stronger than the actual difference. In addition, fixing the threshold before the experiment could promote the factor time as a confound.…”

Section: Beyond Local Processing: Prestimulus Functional Network As mentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The present study aimed at testing the generic WIN2CON framework on preexisting data published by Wühle et al (17). The experiment is described in Materials and Methods and can be read in detail in the original paper (17).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On average, small but systematic differences could be observed for the stimulation intensities between hits and misses; however, an F test shows that the average intensity difference between hits and misses is well in the range of random fluctuations of stimulus intensities because of the variation of the threshold across the experiment (see figure 4b in ref. 17). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experiment is described in Materials and Methods and can be read in detail in the original paper (17). In this study, we focused on the critical NT ( Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we present a tactile NT study (reanalysis of ref. 17) in which we conceptualize the prestimulus period as a "window to consciousness" (hence the name of our framework: WIN2CON). Our central claim is that local prestimulus excitability differences (expressed via differences in α-power) in "essential nodes" [i.e., cortical regions that selectively encode distinct aspects of conscious perception (18,19)] are a necessary but not sufficient requirement for an NT stimulus to become consciously reportable.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Prestimulus oscillatory power and connectivity patterns predispose conscious somatosensory perception

Weisz

Wühle

Monittola

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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166

169

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Which aspects of our sensory environment enter conscious awareness does not only depend on physical features of the stimulus, but also critically on the so-called current brain state. Results from magnetoencephalography/EEG studies using nearthreshold stimuli have consistently pointed to reduced levels of α-(8-12 Hz) power in relevant sensory areas to predict whether a stimulus will be consciously perceived or not. These findings have been mainly interpreted in strictly "local" terms of enhanced excitability of neuronal ensembles in respective cortical regions. The present study aims to introduce a framework that complements this rather local perspective, by stating that the functional connectivity architecture before stimulation will predetermine information flow. Thus, information computed at a local level will be distributed throughout a network, thereby becoming consciously accessible. Data from a previously published experiment on conscious somatosensory near-threshold perception was reanalyzed focusing on the prestimulus period. Analysis of spectral power showed reduced α-power mainly in the contralateral S2 and middle frontal gyrus to precede hits, thus overall supporting the current literature. Furthermore, differences between hits and misses were obtained on global network (graph theoretical) features in the same interval. Most importantly, in accordance with our framework, we could show that the somatosensory cortex is "more efficiently" integrated into a distributed network in the prestimulus period. This finding means that when a relevant sensory stimulus impinges upon the system, it will encounter preestablished pathways for information flow. In this sense, prestimulus functional connectivity patterns form "windows" to conscious perception. alpha oscillations | graph theory | WIN2CON

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Section: Beyond Local Processing: Prestimulus Functional Network As mentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experiment is described in Materials and Methods and can be read in detail in the original paper (17). In this study, we focused on the critical NT ( Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Prestimulus oscillatory power and connectivity patterns predispose conscious somatosensory perception

Weisz

Wühle

Monittola

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

166

169

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A Flexible Artificial Sensory Nerve Enabled by Nanoparticle‐Assembled Synaptic Devices for Neuromorphic Tactile Recognition

Jiang

Liu

et al. 2022

Advanced Science

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Tactile perception enabled by somatosensory system in human is essential for dexterous tool usage, communication, and interaction. Imparting tactile recognition functions to advanced robots and interactive systems can potentially improve their cognition and intelligence. Here, a flexible artificial sensory nerve that mimics the tactile sensing, neural coding, and synaptic processing functions in human sensory nerve is developed to achieve neuromorphic tactile recognition at device level without relying on algorithms or computing resources. An interfacial self-assembly technique, which produces uniform and defect-less thin film of semiconductor nanoparticles on arbitrary substrates, is employed to prepare the flexible synaptic device. The neural facilitation and sensory memory characteristics of the proton-gating synaptic device enable this system to identify material hardness during robotic grasping and recognize tapping patterns during tactile interaction in a continuous, real-time, high-accuracy manner, demonstrating neuromorphic intelligence and recognition capabilities. This artificial sensory nerve produced in wearable and portable form can be readily integrated with advanced robots and smart human-machine interfaces for implementing human-like tactile cognition in neuromorphic electronics toward robotic and wearable applications.

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Early integration of bilateral touch in the primary somatosensory cortex

Tamè

Pavani

Papadelis

et al. 2014

Human Brain Mapping

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Animal, as well as behavioural and neuroimaging studies in humans have documented integration of bilateral tactile information at the level of primary somatosensory cortex (SI). However, it is still debated whether integration in SI occurs early or late during tactile processing, and whether it is somatotopically organized. To address both the spatial and temporal aspects of bilateral tactile processing we used magnetoencephalography in a tactile repetition-suppression paradigm. We examined somatosensory evoked-responses produced by probe stimuli preceded by an adaptor, as a function of the relative position of adaptor and probe (probe always at the left index finger; adaptor at the index or middle finger of the left or right hand) and as a function of the delay between adaptor and probe (0, 25, or 125 ms). Percentage of response-amplitude suppression was computed by comparing paired (adaptor + probe) with single stimulations of adaptor and probe. Results show that response suppression varies differentially in SI and SII as a function of both spatial and temporal features of the stimuli. Remarkably, repetition suppression of SI activity emerged early in time, regardless of whether the adaptor stimulus was presented on the same and the opposite body side with respect to the probe. These novel findings support the notion of an early and somatotopically organized inter-hemispheric integration of tactile information in SI.

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Cortical processing of near-threshold tactile stimuli: An MEG study

Cited by 28 publications

References 35 publications

Prestimulus oscillatory power and connectivity patterns predispose conscious somatosensory perception

Prestimulus oscillatory power and connectivity patterns predispose conscious somatosensory perception

A Flexible Artificial Sensory Nerve Enabled by Nanoparticle‐Assembled Synaptic Devices for Neuromorphic Tactile Recognition

Early integration of bilateral touch in the primary somatosensory cortex

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