Primary somatosensory cortex organization for engineering artificial somatosensation

Krista Lamorie-Foote; Daniel R Kramer; Shivani Sundaram; Jonathon Cavaleri; Zachary D Gilbert; Austin M Tang; Luke Bashford; Charles Y Liu; Spencer Kellis; Brian Lee

doi:10.1016/j.neures.2024.01.005

Primary somatosensory cortex organization for engineering artificial somatosensation

Neurosci Res. 2024 Jan 24:S0168-0102(24)00009-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2024.01.005. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
² Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO, United States.
³ Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Electronic address: ss83483@usc.edu.
⁴ Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Texas at Houston, Houston, TX, United States.
⁵ Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, T&C Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
⁶ Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; USC Neurorestoration Center, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

PMID: 38278220
DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2024.01.005

Abstract

Somatosensory deficits from stroke, spinal cord injury, or other neurologic damage can lead to a significant degree of functional impairment. The primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortices encode information in a medial to lateral organization. SI is generally organized topographically, with more discrete cortical representations of specific body regions. SII regions corresponding to anatomical areas are less discrete and may represent a more functional rather than topographic organization. Human somatosensory research continues to map cortical areas of sensory processing with efforts primarily focused on hand and upper extremity information in SI. However, research into SII and other body regions is lacking. In this review, we synthesize the current state of knowledge regarding the cortical organization of human somatosensation and discuss potential applications for brain computer interface. In addition to accurate individualized mapping of cortical somatosensation, further research is required to uncover the neurophysiological mechanisms of how somatosensory information is encoded in the cortex.

Keywords: Brain Computer Interface (BCI); Cortical Stimulation; Topography.

Publication types

Review