Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Mapping the integration of sensory information across fingers in human sensorimotor cortex

View ORCID ProfileSpencer A. Arbuckle, View ORCID ProfileJ. Andrew Pruszynski, View ORCID ProfileJörn Diedrichsen
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.07.451552
Spencer A. Arbuckle
1The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Spencer A. Arbuckle
  • For correspondence: jdiedric@uwo.ca sarbuck3@uwo.ca
J. Andrew Pruszynski
1The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
2Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, & Psychology, Western University, London, ON, Canada
3Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for J. Andrew Pruszynski
Jörn Diedrichsen
1The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
4Departments of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, & Computer Science, Western University, London, ON, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Jörn Diedrichsen
  • For correspondence: jdiedric@uwo.ca sarbuck3@uwo.ca
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

The integration of somatosensory signals across fingers is essential for dexterous object manipulation. Previous experiments suggest that this integration occurs in neural populations in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). However, the integration process has not been fully characterized, as previous studies have mainly used two-finger stimulation paradigms. Here, we addressed this gap by stimulating all 31 single- and multi-finger combinations. We measured population-wide activity patterns evoked during finger stimulation in human S1 and primary motor cortex (M1) using 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in female and male participants. Using multivariate fMRI analyses, we found clear evidence of unique non-linear interactions between fingers. In Brodmann area (BA) 3b, interactions predominantly occurred between pairs of neighbouring fingers. In BA 2, however, we found equally strong interactions between spatially distant fingers, as well as interactions between finger triplets and quadruplets. We additionally observed strong interactions in the hand area of M1. In both M1 and S1, these non-linear interactions did not reflect a general suppression of overall activity, suggesting instead that the interactions we observed reflect rich, non-linear integration of sensory inputs from the fingers. We suggest that this non-linear finger integration allows for a highly flexible mapping from finger sensory inputs to motor responses that facilitates dexterous object manipulation.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

  • In this revised version, we have provided more clarity in the methods (e.g., how we constructed the plots in Fig. 2B & D) and expanded upon some points in the discussion. Figure 3C & D have also been updated.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted April 15, 2022.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Mapping the integration of sensory information across fingers in human sensorimotor cortex
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Mapping the integration of sensory information across fingers in human sensorimotor cortex
Spencer A. Arbuckle, J. Andrew Pruszynski, Jörn Diedrichsen
bioRxiv 2021.07.07.451552; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.07.451552
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Mapping the integration of sensory information across fingers in human sensorimotor cortex
Spencer A. Arbuckle, J. Andrew Pruszynski, Jörn Diedrichsen
bioRxiv 2021.07.07.451552; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.07.451552

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3514)
  • Biochemistry (7371)
  • Bioengineering (5347)
  • Bioinformatics (20329)
  • Biophysics (10048)
  • Cancer Biology (7782)
  • Cell Biology (11353)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6454)
  • Ecology (9985)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13361)
  • Genetics (9377)
  • Genomics (12616)
  • Immunology (7729)
  • Microbiology (19119)
  • Molecular Biology (7478)
  • Neuroscience (41163)
  • Paleontology (301)
  • Pathology (1235)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2142)
  • Physiology (3183)
  • Plant Biology (6885)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1276)
  • Synthetic Biology (1900)
  • Systems Biology (5329)
  • Zoology (1091)