Cortical sensory aging is layer-specific

Liu, Peng; Doehler, Juliane; Henschke, Julia U.; Northall, Alicia; Serian, Angela; Loaiza-Carvajal, Laura C.; Budinger, Eike; Schwarzkopf, Dietrich S.; Speck, Oliver; Pakan, Janelle M.P.; Kuehn, Esther

doi:10.1101/2023.12.01.567841

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 160 publications

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“…Therefore, investigating laminar computations is crucial for further understanding somatosensory perception in humans (Dumoulin et al, 2018;Kuehn and Pleger, 2020). Insights into laminar digit representations in BA3b solely using BOLD measurements are sparse (for one example, see Liu et al, 2023). However, Puckett et al (2017Puckett et al ( , 2020, Schluppeck et al (2018), and Kalyani et al (2023) have described the functional BOLD responses in BA3b using sub-millimetre resolution (which is sometimes regarded as a prerequisite for laminar imaging [Huber et al, 2015]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laminar CBV and BOLD response-characteristics over time and space in the human primary somatosensory cortex at 7T

Dresbach,

Gulban,

Steinbach

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Uncovering the cortical representation of the body has been at the core of human brain mapping for decades, with special attention given to the digits. In the last decade, advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technologies have opened the possibility of noninvasively unraveling the 3rd dimension of digit representations in humans along cortical layers. In laminar fMRI it is common to combine the use of the highly sensitive blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast with cerebral blood volume sensitive measurements, like vascular space occupancy (VASO), that are more specific to the underlying neuronal populations. However, the spatial and temporal VASO response characteristics across cortical depth to passive stimulation of the digits are still unknown. Therefore, we characterized haemodynamic responses to vibrotactile stimulation of individual digit-tips across cortical depth at 0.75 mm in-plane spatial resolution using BOLD and VASO fMRI at 7T. We could identify digit-specific regions of interest (ROIs) in putative Brodmann area 3b, following the known anatomical organization. In the ROIs, the BOLD response increased towards the cortical surface due to the draining vein effect, while the VASO response was more shifted towards middle cortical layers, likely reflecting bottom-up input from the thalamus, as expected. Interestingly, we also found slightly negative BOLD and VASO responses for non-preferred digits in the ROIs, potentially indicating neuronal surround inhibition. Finally, we explored the temporal signal dynamics for BOLD and VASO as a function of distance from activation peaks resulting from stimulation of contralateral digits. With this analysis, we showed a triphasic response consisting of an initial peak and a subsequent negative deflection during stimulation, followed by a positive post-stimulus response in BOLD and to some extent in VASO. While similar responses were reported with invasive methods in animal models, here we demonstrate a potential neuronal excitation-inhibition mechanism in a center-surround architecture across layers in the human somatosensory cortex. Given that, unlike in animals, human experiments do not rely on anesthesia and can readily implement extensive behavioral testing, obtaining this effect in humans is an important step towards further uncovering the functional significance of the different aspects of the triphasic response.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laminar CBV and BOLD response-characteristics over time and space in the human primary somatosensory cortex at 7T

Dresbach,

Gulban,

Steinbach

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Tactile memory impairments in younger and older adults

Lange,

Chrysidou,

Liu

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Human tactile memory allows us to remember and retrieve the multitude of somatosensory experiences we undergo in everyday life. An unsolved question is how tactile memory mechanisms change with increasing age. We here use the ability to remember fine-grained tactile patterns passively presented to the fingertip to investigate age-related changes in tactile memory performance. In experiment 1, we varied the degree of similarity between one learned and several new tactile patterns to test on age-related changes in the “uniqueness” of a stored tactile memory trace. In experiment 2, we varied the degree of stimulus completeness of both known and new tactile patterns to test on age-related changes in the weighting between known and novel tactile information. Results reveal that older adults show only weak impairments in both precision and bias of tactile memories, however, they show specific deficits in reaching peak performance > 85% in both experiments. In addition, both younger and older adults show a pattern completion bias for touch, indicating a higher weighting of known compared to new information. These results allow us to develop new models on how younger and older adults store and recall tactile experiences of the past, and how this influences their everyday behavior.

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Cortical sensory aging is layer-specific

Cited by 2 publications

References 160 publications

Laminar CBV and BOLD response-characteristics over time and space in the human primary somatosensory cortex at 7T

Laminar CBV and BOLD response-characteristics over time and space in the human primary somatosensory cortex at 7T

Tactile memory impairments in younger and older adults

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