Localization of sensorimotor cortical rhythms induced by tactile stimulation using spatially filtered MEG

We applied the synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) spatial filtering method to localize sensorimotor mu (8-14 Hz) and beta (15-35 Hz) rhythms following tactile (brush) stimulation. Neuromagnetic activity was recorded from 10 adult subjects. Transient brush stimuli were applied separately to the right index finger, medial right toe and lower right lip. Differential images of mu and beta band source power were created for periods during (event-related desynchronization; ERD) or following (event-related synchronization; ERS) tactile stimulation, relative to prestimulus baseline activity. Mu ERD to finger brushing was localized to the contralateral somatosensory cortex and was organized somatotopically. Mu ERS, however, was not consistently observed for each subject. Beta ERD was consistently localized to sensory cortical areas and organized somatotopically in the post-central gyrus (SI), and beta ERS was observed to be organized motorotopically in the precentral gyrus (MI). Longer duration (2-3 s) stimulation of the index finger also produced beta ERS in the primary motor cortex, and its time course demonstrated that these oscillatory changes are an off-response to the termination of the presented sensory stimulus. Interestingly, lip and toe stimulation also produced post-stimulus increases in beta rhythms in the bilateral motor hand areas for all subjects, suggesting that common neural systems in the primary motor cortex are activated during tactile stimulation of different body regions.