Vibrotactile Coding Capacities of Spinocervical Tract Neurons in the Cat

Sahai, Vineet; Mahns, David A.; Perkins, N. M; Robinson, Lucy; Rowe, Mark J.

doi:10.1152/jn.00484.2005

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The response characteristics and coding capacities of these neurons have been quantified to permit comparison first, with their glabrous skin counterparts in the dorsal column nuclei (Connor et al 1984;Douglas et al 1978) and second, with the capacity of identified spinocervical tract neurons to signal such vibrotactile information (see companion paper, Sahai et al 2006). Furthermore, quantification of these DCN neuronal coding capacities permitted the data to be related more closely to psychophysical data on vibrotactile frequency recognition and discrimination in the hairy skin, the subject of the other associated paper .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing of Vibrotactile Inputs From Hairy Skin by Neurons of the Dorsal Column Nuclei in the Cat

Sahai

Mahns

Robinson

et al. 2006

Journal of Neurophysiology

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. The capacity of single neurons of the dorsal column nuclei (DCN) for coding vibrotactile information from the hairy skin has been investigated in anesthetized cats to permit quantitative comparison first with the capacities of DCN neurons responding to glabrous skin vibrotactile inputs and second with those of spinocervical tract neurons responding to vibrotactile inputs from hairy skin. Dynamically sensitive tactile neurons of the DCN the input of which came from hairy skin could be divided into two classes, one associated with hair follicle afferent (HFA) input, the other with Pacinian corpuscle (PC) input. The HFA-related class was most sensitive to low-frequency (Ͻ50 Hz) vibration and had a graded response output as a function of vibrotactile intensity changes. PCrelated neurons had a broader vibrotactile sensitivity, extending to Ն300 Hz and appeared to derive their input from the margins of hairy skin, near the footpads, or from deeper PC sources such as the interosseous membranes or joints. HFA-related neurons had phaselocked responses to vibration frequencies up to ϳ75 Hz, whereas PC neurons retained this capacity up to frequencies of ϳ300 Hz with tightest phaselocking between 50 and 200 Hz. Quantitative measures of phaselocking revealed that the HFA-related neurons provide the better signal of vibrotactile frequency up to ϳ50 Hz with a switchover to the PC-related neurons above that value. In conclusion, the functional capacities of these two classes of cuneate neuron appear to account for behavioral vibrotactile frequency discriminative performance in hairy skin, in contrast to the limited capacities of vibrotactile-sensitive neurons within the spinocervical tract system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing of Vibrotactile Inputs From Hairy Skin by Neurons of the Dorsal Column Nuclei in the Cat

Sahai

Mahns

Robinson

et al. 2006

Journal of Neurophysiology

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“…Whereas nociceptive sensory neurons predominantly contact spinal INs in the most superficial laminae (I and II) of the dorsal horn, tracing studies of myelinated cutaneous afferents have described the most dense labeling of terminals to be found in laminae III-V of the spinal cord in rodents (Levinsson et al 2002;Molander and Grant 1986;Panneton et al 2005), cats (Brown et al 1981), and primates (Florence et al 1991). Consistent with this distribution of tactile afferents within the spinal cord, electrophysiological recordings of touch-evoked sensory inputs to spinal neurons in laminae III-V have been reported in primates (Wagman and Price 1969), rats (Woolf and King 1989), hamsters (Schneider 2005), and cats (Koerber et al 1990;Sahai et al 2006), amongst others. Some of these laminae III-V spinal neurons receiving sensory inputs from LTMRs have been identified as premotor INs [i.e., neurons projecting directly to motoneurons (Egger and Wall 1971;Hongo et al 1989a, b)], whereas some have been observed in more ventral laminae VI and/or VII (Edgley and Jankowska 1987;Moschovakis et al 1992;Stepien et al 2010).…”

Section: Properties Of Spinal Circuits Processing Tactile Informationmentioning

confidence: 89%

Genetically identified spinal interneurons integrating tactile afferents for motor control

Bui

Stifani

Panek

et al. 2015

Journal of Neurophysiology

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Our movements are shaped by our perception of the world as communicated by our senses. Perception of sensory information has been largely attributed to cortical activity. However, a prior level of sensory processing occurs in the spinal cord. Indeed, sensory inputs directly project to many spinal circuits, some of which communicate with motor circuits within the spinal cord. Therefore, the processing of sensory information for the purpose of ensuring proper movements is distributed between spinal and supraspinal circuits. The mechanisms underlying the integration of sensory information for motor control at the level of the spinal cord have yet to be fully described. Recent research has led to the characterization of spinal neuron populations that share common molecular identities. Identification of molecular markers that define specific populations of spinal neurons is a prerequisite to the application of genetic techniques devised to both delineate the function of these spinal neurons and their connectivity. This strategy has been used in the study of spinal neurons that receive tactile inputs from sensory neurons innervating the skin. As a result, the circuits that include these spinal neurons have been revealed to play important roles in specific aspects of motor function. We describe these genetically identified spinal neurons that integrate tactile information and the contribution of these studies to our understanding of how tactile information shapes motor output. Furthermore, we describe future opportunities that these circuits present for shedding light on the neural mechanisms of tactile processing.

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“…Furthermore, the use of the forearm as a location for delivering vibrotactile feedback is generally well-tolerated by users, making it a practical and effective option for a wide range of applications [38]. A number of studies are available where vibrotactile stimuli have been delivered to the volar forearm, and various actuator types and parameters have been used [1,16,17,34,39,40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Stimulus Frequency and Location on Vibrotactile Discrimination Performance Using Voice Coil Actuators on the Forearm

et al. 2023

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What are the effects of frequency variation of vibrotactile stimuli on localization acuity? The precise localization of vibrotactile stimuli is crucial for applications that are aimed at conveying vibrotactile information. In order to evaluate the ability to distinguish between vibrotactile stimuli based on their frequency and location on the forearm, we used a relative point localization method. Participants were presented with pairs of sequential vibrotactile stimuli at three possible locations on the forearm and asked to determine whether the second stimulation occurred at the same location as the first one in the pair or not. The stimulation frequency varied between 100 Hz, 150 Hz, 200 Hz and 250 Hz, which covers the range of frequencies that human observers are most sensitive to. The amplitude was kept constant. Our results revealed that the ability to discriminate between actuators remained unaffected by variations in the frequency of vibrotactile stimulation within the tested frequency range. The accuracy of the tactile discrimination task was heavily dependent on the location of the stimulation on the forearm, with the highest accuracy close to the wrist and elbow, locations that may serve as tactile anchor points. Our results highlight the critical role of stimulation location in precise vibrotactile localization and the importance of careful consideration of location in the design of forearm-mounted vibrotactile devices.

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Vibrotactile Coding Capacities of Spinocervical Tract Neurons in the Cat

Cited by 5 publications

References 58 publications

Processing of Vibrotactile Inputs From Hairy Skin by Neurons of the Dorsal Column Nuclei in the Cat

Processing of Vibrotactile Inputs From Hairy Skin by Neurons of the Dorsal Column Nuclei in the Cat

Genetically identified spinal interneurons integrating tactile afferents for motor control

Effects of Stimulus Frequency and Location on Vibrotactile Discrimination Performance Using Voice Coil Actuators on the Forearm

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