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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
06:56
Somatosensory Event-related Potentials from Orofacial Skin Stretch Stimulation
Published on: December 18, 2015
Somatosensory off-response in humans: an MEG study
Koya Yamashiro1, Koji Inui, Naofumi Otsuru
1Department of Integrative Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki , Japan. koya@nips.ac.jp
Neuroimage
|December 10, 2008
Summary
Magnetoencephalography revealed distinct brain responses to somatosensory stimuli. Parasylvian regions detect changes on the body surface, with unique patterns for stimulus onset and offset.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Somatosensory System Research
Background:
- Understanding the brain's processing of somatosensory information is crucial.
- Cortical responses to stimulus onset and offset require detailed temporal and spatial characterization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clarify the temporal and spatial profiles of somatosensory on- and off-cortical responses.
- To investigate the distinct neural populations involved in processing trains of somatosensory stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record cortical activities.
- Electrical pulses were applied to the right hand in eleven healthy volunteers.
Main Results:
- Both hemispheres' parasylvian regions responded to stimulus onset and offset.
- Primary somatosensory cortex (SI) activity was primarily observed for stimulus onset.
- Contralateral parasylvian (cPara) activity location differed between onset and offset, unlike ipsilateral parasylvian (iPara) activity.
Conclusions:
- Parasylvian regions are involved in detecting changes at the body's surface.
- Distinct neural populations in SI process trains of pulses.
- Ipsilateral parasylvian activity may represent an event-related response independent of contralateral activity.
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