Dataset Information

Resting BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex correlate with tactile acuity.

ABSTRACT: Sensory perception, including 2-point discrimination (2 ptD), is tightly linked to cortical processing of tactile stimuli in primary somatosensory cortices. While the role of cortical activity in response to a tactile stimulus has been widely investigated, the role of baseline cortical activity is largely unknown. Using resting state fMRI we investigated the relationship between local BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex (the representational field of the hand) and 2 ptD of the corresponding index finger (right and left). Cortical activity was measured using fractional amplitudes of the low frequency BOLD fluctuations (fALFF) and synchronicity using regional homogeneity (ReHo) of the S1 hand region during rest. 2 ptD correlated with higher ReHo values in the representational areas of the contralateral S1 cortex (left hand: p = .028; right hand: p = .049). 2 ptD additionally correlated with higher fALFF in the representational area of the left hand (p = .007) and showed a trend for a significant correlation in the representational area of the right hand (p = .051). Thus, higher BOLD amplitudes and synchronicity at rest, as measures of cortical activity and synchronicity, respectively, are related to better tactile discrimination abilities of the contralateral hand. Our findings extend the relationship seen between spontaneous BOLD fluctuations and sensory perception.

SUBMITTER: Haag LM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5527676 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Resting BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex correlate with tactile acuity.

Haag Lauren M LM Heba Stefanie S Lenz Melanie M Glaubitz Benjamin B Höffken Oliver O Kalisch Tobias T Puts Nicholaas A NA Edden Richard A E RA Tegenthoff Martin M Dinse Hubert H Schmidt-Wilcke Tobias T

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior 20141007

Sensory perception, including 2-point discrimination (2 ptD), is tightly linked to cortical processing of tactile stimuli in primary somatosensory cortices. While the role of cortical activity in response to a tactile stimulus has been widely investigated, the role of baseline cortical activity is largely unknown. Using resting state fMRI we investigated the relationship between local BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex (the representational field of the hand) and 2 ptD of the ...[more]

PMID: 25461704

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Project description:Prior studies have shown that patients suffering from chronic Low Back Pain (cLBP) have impaired somatosensory processing including reduced tactile acuity, i.e. reduced ability to resolve fine spatial details with the perception of touch. The central mechanism(s) underlying reduced tactile acuity are unknown but may include changes in specific brain circuitries (e.g. neuroplasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex, S1). Furthermore, little is known about the linkage between changes in tactile acuity and the amelioration of cLBP by somatically-directed therapeutic interventions, such as acupuncture. In this longitudinal neuroimaging study, we evaluated healthy control adults (HC, N = 50) and a large sample of cLBP patients (N = 102) with structural brain imaging (T1-weighted MRI for Voxel-Based Morphometry, VBM; Diffusion Tensor Imaging, DTI) and tactile acuity testing using two-point discrimination threshold (2PDT) over the lower back (site of pain) and finger (control) locations. Patients were evaluated at baseline and following a 4-week course of acupuncture, with patients randomized to either verum acupuncture, two different forms of sham acupuncture (designed with or without somatosensory afference), or no-intervention usual care control. At baseline, cLBP patients demonstrated reduced acuity (greater 2PDT, P = 0.01) over the low back, but not finger (P = 0.29) locations compared to HC, suggesting that chronic pain affects tactile acuity specifically at body regions encoding the experience of clinical pain. At baseline, Gray Matter Volume (GMV) was elevated and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) was reduced, respectively, in the S1-back region of cLBP patients compared to controls (P < 0.05). GMV in cLBP correlated with greater 2PDT-back scores (ρ = 0.27, P = 0.02). Following verum acupuncture, tactile acuity over the back was improved (reduced 2PDT) and greater improvements were associated with reduced S1-back GMV (ρ = 0.52, P = 0.03) and increased S1-back adjacent white matter FA (ρ = -0.56, P = 0.01). These associations were not seen for non-verum control interventions. Thus, S1 neuroplasticity in cLBP is linked with deficits in tactile acuity and, following acupuncture therapy, may represent early mechanistic changes in somatosensory processing that track with improved tactile acuity.

Dataset Information

Resting BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex correlate with tactile acuity.

Publications

Resting BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex correlate with tactile acuity.

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