Neuroscience 2004 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 642.7 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | The somatosensory representation of orofacial area: A functional MRI study. |
| Authors: |
Miyamoto, J.*1,2
; Saito, D. N.1
; Okada, T.1
; Honada, M.1,3
; Ohyama, K.2
; Sadato, N.1
1Cerebral Integration, Cerebral Res., Natl. Inst. for Physiological Sci., Okazaki, Japan 2Japan, 38 Nishigonaka,, 444-8585, 3Maxillofacial Orthognathics, 38 Nishigonaka,, 444-8585, |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Sensory Systems - Tactile/Somatosensory -- Cortex imaging |
| Session: |
642. Cortex Imaging I Poster |
| Presentation Time: | Tuesday, October 26, 2004 10:00 AM-11:00 AM |
| Location: | San Diego Convention Center - Hall A-H, Board # W5 |
| Keywords: | SOMATOSENSORY, TEETH REPRESENTATION, HIERARCHY, POSTCENTRAL GYRUS |
It is controversial about the human somatotopic representation of orofacial areas, especially of the teeth. In addition, some studies of the postcentral somatosensory cortices of the non-human primates support a hierarchical scheme for information processing: the receptive field size and complexity increase with caudal progression. But there are few studies about hierarchical scheme in the orofacial area of the human. To verify human somatosensory orofacial representation including teeth and to show a hierarchal structure of this area, we conducted functional MRI. Tactile stimuli were applied to the forehead, lower lip, chin, tongue, and teeth. Our expectation was that the separated somatotopic representation in the rostral portion of the postcentral gyrus (PoCG) will be merging with caudal progression. Hence we compared the activated foci in the rostral PoCG nearby the central sulcus and those in the caudal portion nearby the postcentral sulcus. The foci activated by each stimulus were characterized by means of their center of gravity (COG) and their overlap with each other. In the rostral PoCG, the COGs of the activated foci were widely separated, whereas clustered in the caudal area. In the rostral PoCG, the COG of the teeth was located significantly dorsal to that of tongue and ventral to that of lip, and tended to be located ventral to that of forehead, consistent with classical Penfield's scheme. Moreover, the proportions of overlap across the activated foci in the caudal PoCG were significantly higher than those in the rostral PoCG. These findings suggest the existence of a hierarchal structure in the PoCG of human regarding the orofacial representation.
Supported by B#14380380
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2004 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, 2004. Online.
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