Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans
IntroductionTactile information processing requires the integration of sensory, motor, and cognitive information. Width discrimination has been extensively studied in rodents, but not in humans.MethodsHere, we describe Electroencephalography (EEG) signals in humans performing a tactile width discrim...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1155102/full |
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| author | Carla Pais-Vieira Mehrab K. Allahdad André Perrotta André S. Peres André S. Peres Carolina Kunicki Carolina Kunicki Mafalda Aguiar Manuel Oliveira Miguel Pais-Vieira |
| author_facet | Carla Pais-Vieira Mehrab K. Allahdad André Perrotta André S. Peres André S. Peres Carolina Kunicki Carolina Kunicki Mafalda Aguiar Manuel Oliveira Miguel Pais-Vieira |
| author_sort | Carla Pais-Vieira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionTactile information processing requires the integration of sensory, motor, and cognitive information. Width discrimination has been extensively studied in rodents, but not in humans.MethodsHere, we describe Electroencephalography (EEG) signals in humans performing a tactile width discrimination task. The first goal of this study was to describe changes in neural activity occurring during the discrimination and the response periods. The second goal was to relate specific changes in neural activity to the performance in the task.ResultsComparison of changes in power between two different periods of the task, corresponding to the discrimination of the tactile stimulus and the motor response, revealed the engagement of an asymmetrical network associated with fronto-temporo-parieto-occipital electrodes and across multiple frequency bands. Analysis of ratios of higher [Ratio 1: (0.5–20 Hz)/(0.5–45 Hz)] or lower frequencies [Ratio 2: (0.5–4.5 Hz)/(0.5–9 Hz)], during the discrimination period revealed that activity recorded from frontal-parietal electrodes was correlated to tactile width discrimination performance between-subjects, independently of task difficulty. Meanwhile, the dynamics in parieto-occipital electrodes were correlated to the changes in performance within-subjects (i.e., between the first and the second blocks) independently of task difficulty. In addition, analysis of information transfer, using Granger causality, further demonstrated that improvements in performance between blocks were characterized by an overall reduction in information transfer to the ipsilateral parietal electrode (P4) and an increase in information transfer to the contralateral parietal electrode (P3).DiscussionThe main finding of this study is that fronto-parietal electrodes encoded between-subjects’ performances while parieto-occipital electrodes encoded within-subjects’ performances, supporting the notion that tactile width discrimination processing is associated with a complex asymmetrical network involving fronto-parieto-occipital electrodes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:13:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a068a137e68485ebf03b1f08ba65997 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:13:31Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a068a137e68485ebf03b1f08ba659972023-05-12T05:55:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612023-05-011710.3389/fnhum.2023.11551021155102Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humansCarla Pais-Vieira0Mehrab K. Allahdad1André Perrotta2André S. Peres3André S. Peres4Carolina Kunicki5Carolina Kunicki6Mafalda Aguiar7Manuel Oliveira8Miguel Pais-Vieira9Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Saúde (CIIS), Instituto de Ciências da Saúde (ICS), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, PortugalCentro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Saúde (CIIS), Instituto de Ciências da Saúde (ICS), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, PortugalCentre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra (CISUC), Coimbra, PortugalProaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalCINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalVasco da Gama Research Center (CIVG), Vasco da Gama University School (EUVG), Coimbra, PortugalCenter for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalDepartment of Medical Sciences, iBiMED-Institute of Biomedicine, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Medical Sciences, iBiMED-Institute of Biomedicine, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Medical Sciences, iBiMED-Institute of Biomedicine, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, PortugalIntroductionTactile information processing requires the integration of sensory, motor, and cognitive information. Width discrimination has been extensively studied in rodents, but not in humans.MethodsHere, we describe Electroencephalography (EEG) signals in humans performing a tactile width discrimination task. The first goal of this study was to describe changes in neural activity occurring during the discrimination and the response periods. The second goal was to relate specific changes in neural activity to the performance in the task.ResultsComparison of changes in power between two different periods of the task, corresponding to the discrimination of the tactile stimulus and the motor response, revealed the engagement of an asymmetrical network associated with fronto-temporo-parieto-occipital electrodes and across multiple frequency bands. Analysis of ratios of higher [Ratio 1: (0.5–20 Hz)/(0.5–45 Hz)] or lower frequencies [Ratio 2: (0.5–4.5 Hz)/(0.5–9 Hz)], during the discrimination period revealed that activity recorded from frontal-parietal electrodes was correlated to tactile width discrimination performance between-subjects, independently of task difficulty. Meanwhile, the dynamics in parieto-occipital electrodes were correlated to the changes in performance within-subjects (i.e., between the first and the second blocks) independently of task difficulty. In addition, analysis of information transfer, using Granger causality, further demonstrated that improvements in performance between blocks were characterized by an overall reduction in information transfer to the ipsilateral parietal electrode (P4) and an increase in information transfer to the contralateral parietal electrode (P3).DiscussionThe main finding of this study is that fronto-parietal electrodes encoded between-subjects’ performances while parieto-occipital electrodes encoded within-subjects’ performances, supporting the notion that tactile width discrimination processing is associated with a complex asymmetrical network involving fronto-parieto-occipital electrodes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1155102/fulltactilediscriminationneurophysiologyEEGwidth |
| spellingShingle | Carla Pais-Vieira Mehrab K. Allahdad André Perrotta André S. Peres André S. Peres Carolina Kunicki Carolina Kunicki Mafalda Aguiar Manuel Oliveira Miguel Pais-Vieira Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans Frontiers in Human Neuroscience tactile discrimination neurophysiology EEG width |
| title | Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans |
| title_full | Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans |
| title_fullStr | Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans |
| title_short | Neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans |
| title_sort | neurophysiological correlates of tactile width discrimination in humans |
| topic | tactile discrimination neurophysiology EEG width |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1155102/full |
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