Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices
Abstract Load theory assumes that neural activation to distractors in early sensory cortices is modulated by the perceptual load of a main task, regardless of whether task and distractor share the same sensory modality or not. While several studies have investigated the question of load effects on d...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34225-5 |
| _version_ | 1827956874754916352 |
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| author | Antje Peters Laura Brockhoff Maximilian Bruchmann Torge Dellert Robert Moeck Insa Schlossmacher Thomas Straube |
| author_facet | Antje Peters Laura Brockhoff Maximilian Bruchmann Torge Dellert Robert Moeck Insa Schlossmacher Thomas Straube |
| author_sort | Antje Peters |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Load theory assumes that neural activation to distractors in early sensory cortices is modulated by the perceptual load of a main task, regardless of whether task and distractor share the same sensory modality or not. While several studies have investigated the question of load effects on distractor processing in early sensory areas, there is no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study regarding load effects on somatosensory stimuli. Here, we used fMRI to investigate effects of visual perceptual load on neural responses to somatosensory stimuli applied to the wrist in a study with 44 participants. Perceptual load was manipulated by an established sustained visual detection task, which avoided simultaneous target and distractor presentations. Load was operationalized by detection difficulty of subtle or clear color changes of one of 12 rotating dots. While all somatosensory stimuli led to activation in somatosensory areas SI and SII, we found no statistically significant difference in brain activation to these stimuli under high compared to low sustained visual load. Moreover, exploratory Bayesian analyses supported the absence of differences. Thus, our findings suggest a resistance of somatosensory processing to at least some forms of visual perceptual load, possibly due to behavioural relevance of discrete somatosensory stimuli and separable attentional resources for the somatosensory and visual modality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:10:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-212361d3fe9c44828adadbb1ec5cbf8e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:10:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-212361d3fe9c44828adadbb1ec5cbf8e2023-04-30T11:13:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-04-0113111110.1038/s41598-023-34225-5Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory corticesAntje Peters0Laura Brockhoff1Maximilian Bruchmann2Torge Dellert3Robert Moeck4Insa Schlossmacher5Thomas Straube6Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University Hospital MünsterAbstract Load theory assumes that neural activation to distractors in early sensory cortices is modulated by the perceptual load of a main task, regardless of whether task and distractor share the same sensory modality or not. While several studies have investigated the question of load effects on distractor processing in early sensory areas, there is no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study regarding load effects on somatosensory stimuli. Here, we used fMRI to investigate effects of visual perceptual load on neural responses to somatosensory stimuli applied to the wrist in a study with 44 participants. Perceptual load was manipulated by an established sustained visual detection task, which avoided simultaneous target and distractor presentations. Load was operationalized by detection difficulty of subtle or clear color changes of one of 12 rotating dots. While all somatosensory stimuli led to activation in somatosensory areas SI and SII, we found no statistically significant difference in brain activation to these stimuli under high compared to low sustained visual load. Moreover, exploratory Bayesian analyses supported the absence of differences. Thus, our findings suggest a resistance of somatosensory processing to at least some forms of visual perceptual load, possibly due to behavioural relevance of discrete somatosensory stimuli and separable attentional resources for the somatosensory and visual modality.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34225-5 |
| spellingShingle | Antje Peters Laura Brockhoff Maximilian Bruchmann Torge Dellert Robert Moeck Insa Schlossmacher Thomas Straube Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices Scientific Reports |
| title | Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices |
| title_full | Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices |
| title_fullStr | Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices |
| title_short | Visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices |
| title_sort | visual perceptual load and processing of somatosensory stimuli in primary and secondary somatosensory cortices |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34225-5 |
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