Brain encoding of saltatory velocity through a pulsed pneumotactile array in the lower face

Rebecca Custead; Hyuntaek Oh; Yingying Wang; Steven Barlow

doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2017.09.025

Brain encoding of saltatory velocity through a pulsed pneumotactile array in the lower face

Brain Res. 2017 Dec 15:1677:58-73. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2017.09.025. Epub 2017 Sep 27.

Authors

Rebecca Custead¹, Hyuntaek Oh², Yingying Wang³, Steven Barlow⁴

Affiliations

¹ Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA; Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA. Electronic address: rcustead@huskers.unl.edu.
² Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA; Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA. Electronic address: tak8210@gmail.com.
³ Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA; Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA; Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA. Electronic address: yingying.wang@unl.edu.
⁴ Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA; Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA; Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA. Electronic address: steven.barlow@unl.edu.

PMID: 28958864
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2017.09.025

Abstract

Processing dynamic tactile inputs is a primary function of the somatosensory system. Spatial velocity encoding mechanisms by the nervous system are important for skilled movement production and may play a role in recovery of sensorimotor function following neurological insult. Little is known about tactile velocity encoding in mechanosensory trigeminal networks required for speech, suck, mastication, and facial gesture. High resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the neural substrates of velocity encoding in the human orofacial somatosensory system during unilateral saltatory pneumotactile stimulation of perioral and buccal hairy skin in 20 neurotypical adults. A custom multichannel, scalable pneumotactile array consisting of 7 TAC-Cells was used to present 5 stimulus conditions: 5cm/s, 25cm/s, 65cm/s, ALL-ON synchronous activation, and ALL-OFF. The spatiotemporal organization of whole-brain blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response was analyzed with general linear modeling (GLM) and fitted response estimates of percent signal change to compare activations associated with each velocity, and the main effect of velocity alone. Sequential saltatory inputs to the right lower face produced localized BOLD responses in 6 key regions of interest (ROI) including; contralateral precentral and postcentral gyri, and ipsilateral precentral, superior temporal (STG), supramarginal gyri (SMG), and cerebellum. The spatiotemporal organization of the evoked BOLD response was highly dependent on velocity, with the greatest amplitude of BOLD signal change recorded during the 5cm/s presentation in the contralateral hemisphere. Temporal analysis of BOLD response by velocity indicated rapid adaptation via a scalability of networks processing changing pneumotactile velocity cues.

Keywords: BOLD; Human; Network; Trigeminal; Velocity.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain / physiology*
Brain Mapping / methods
Cerebrovascular Circulation / physiology
Equipment Design
Face / physiology*
Female
Humans
Linear Models
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Oxygen / blood
Physical Stimulation / instrumentation
Touch Perception / physiology*
Young Adult

Substances

Oxygen