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Updated: May 29, 2026
09:38
Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
Published on: January 29, 2014
A shift in sensory processing that enables the developing human brain to discriminate touch from pain
Lorenzo Fabrizi1, Rebeccah Slater, Alan Worley
1Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. l.fabrizi@ucl.ac.uk
Current Biology : CB
|September 13, 2011
Summary
Infants develop the ability to distinguish between painful and non-painful touch around 35-37 weeks gestation. This maturation involves a shift in brain activity from general bursts to specific responses, indicating developing sensory discrimination.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Somatosensory System Development
Background:
- Understanding how infants discriminate between noxious and innocuous stimuli is crucial for neuroscience.
- The development of cortical somatosensory pathways in the intact human brain is not well understood.
- Neuronal bursting activity is vital for forming functional brain circuits during development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental changes in brain activity related to nociception and touch discrimination in preterm infants.
- To identify the emergence of functional somatosensory cortical prerequisites for sensory discrimination.
Main Methods:
- Noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were used in infants aged 28-45 weeks gestation.
- Brain activity was recorded in response to time-locked tactile and noxious heel lance stimuli.
- Changes in neuronal activity patterns were analyzed to understand sensory processing development.
Main Results:
- A transition in brain response was observed from nonspecific, dispersed neuronal bursts to modality-specific, localized evoked potentials.
- This shift occurred following both tactile and noxious stimulation.
- The findings indicate the emergence of specific neural circuits for touch and nociception discrimination.
Conclusions:
- Specific neural circuits for discriminating between touch and nociception emerge in the human brain between 35-37 weeks gestation.
- The study highlights the developmental trajectory of somatosensory processing in preterm infants.
- Maturation of functional brain circuitry is associated with a transition in neuronal activity patterns.
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