Several cytoarchitectonic areas can be distinguished along the cortex buried within he Sylvain fissure in primates and amongst these, cutaneous stimulation activates neurons in the second somatosensory area (SII), retroinsular cortex (Ri), granular insula (Ig) and a portion of area 7 (7b). The objectives for this project are 1) to determine the best tactile stimulus for neurons in these cortical loci by analyzing quantitatively responses to controlled mechanical stimuli including different frequencies of vibrotactile stimulation; 2) to examine neuronal activity to sinusoidal tactile stimulation when the probe tip size is changed, when rigid surrounds encircle the stimulation site, and when the receptive field is first exposed to conditioning mechanical stimulation of different frequencies; 3) to study the effects of conditioning electrical stimulation of SI on neuronal responses in SII; and 4) to record the neuronal responses in these regions in animals behaviorally conditioned to perceive various somatosensory stimuli under different expectancy conditions. These studies may further define the function of SII and the surrounding areas in somesthesis and may indicate why destruction of these areas in primates leads to alteration in attention to somesthetic stimuli.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
9R01NS031005-22
Application #
3417977
Study Section
Biopsychology Study Section (BPO)
Project Start
1992-07-01
Project End
1996-06-30
Budget Start
1992-07-01
Budget End
1993-06-30
Support Year
22
Fiscal Year
1992
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington University
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
062761671
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Wingert, Jason R; Sinclair, Robert J; Dixit, Sachin et al. (2010) Somatosensory-evoked cortical activity in spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Hum Brain Mapp 31:1772-85
Wingert, Jason R; Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J et al. (2009) Joint-position sense and kinesthesia in cerebral palsy. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 90:447-53
Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J; Wingert, Jason R et al. (2008) Multiple parietal operculum subdivisions in humans: tactile activation maps. Somatosens Mot Res 25:149-62
Wingert, Jason R; Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J et al. (2008) Tactile sensory abilities in cerebral palsy: deficits in roughness and object discrimination. Dev Med Child Neurol 50:832-8
Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J; McLaren, Donald G (2008) Cortical network for vibrotactile attention: a fMRI study. Hum Brain Mapp 29:207-21
Corbetta, Maurizio; Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J et al. (2002) Functional reorganization and stability of somatosensory-motor cortical topography in a tetraplegic subject with late recovery. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99:17066-71
Sinclair, R J; Kuo, J J; Burton, H (2000) Effects on discrimination performance of selective attention to tactile features. Somatosens Mot Res 17:145-57
Burton, H; Sinclair, R J (2000) Attending to and remembering tactile stimuli: a review of brain imaging data and single-neuron responses. J Clin Neurophysiol 17:575-91
Pruett Jr, J R; Sinclair, R J; Burton, H (2000) Response patterns in second somatosensory cortex (SII) of awake monkeys to passively applied tactile gratings. J Neurophysiol 84:780-97
Burton, H; Sinclair, R J (2000) Tactile-spatial and cross-modal attention effects in the primary somatosensory cortical areas 3b and 1-2 of rhesus monkeys. Somatosens Mot Res 17:213-28

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