QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, February 15, 2006, 26(7):2101-2114; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3720-05.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (13) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sripati, A. P. Articles by Johnson, K. O. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sripati, A. P. Articles by Johnson, K. O.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Spatiotemporal Receptive Fields of Peripheral Afferents and Cortical Area 3b and 1 Neurons in the Primate Somatosensory System

Arun P. Sripati,^1,2 Takashi Yoshioka,^1,3 Peter Denchev,¹ Steven S. Hsiao,^1,3,4 and Kenneth O. Johnson^1,3,4

¹Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute and Departments of ²Electrical and Computer Engineering, ³Neuroscience, and ⁴Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218

Correspondence should be addressed to Steven S. Hsiao, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. Email: Steven.Hsiao{at}jhu.edu

Neurons in area 3b have been previously characterized using linear spatial receptive fields with spatially separated excitatory and inhibitory regions. Here, we expand on this work by examining the relationship between excitation and inhibition along both spatial and temporal dimensions and comparing these properties across anatomical areas. To that end, we characterized the spatiotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) of 32 slowly adapting type 1 (SA1) and 21 rapidly adapting peripheral afferents and of 138 neurons in cortical areas 3b and 1 using identical random probe stimuli. STRFs of peripheral afferents consist of a rapidly appearing excitatory region followed by an in-field (replacing) inhibitory region. STRFs of SA1 afferents also exhibit flanking (surround) inhibition that can be attributed to skin mechanics. Cortical STRFs had longer time courses and greater inhibition compared with peripheral afferent STRFs, with less replacing inhibition in area 1 neurons compared with area 3b neurons. The greater inhibition observed in cortical STRFs point to the existence of underlying intracortical mechanisms. In addition, the shapes of excitatory and inhibitory lobes of both peripheral and cortical STRFs remained mostly stable over time, suggesting that their feature selectivity remains constant throughout the time course of the neural response. Finally, the gradual increase in the proportion of surround inhibition from the periphery to area 3b to area 1, and the concomitant decrease in response linearity of these neurons indicate the emergence of increasingly feature-specific response properties along the somatosensory pathway.

Key words: receptive field; somatosensory cortex; macaque; spatial transformations; peripheral nerve; tactile

---

Received Sept. 2, 2005; revised Jan. 5, 2005; accepted Jan. 6, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Steven S. Hsiao, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. Email: Steven.Hsiao{at}jhu.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y.-C. Pei, P. V. Denchev, S. S. Hsiao, J. C. Craig, and S. J. Bensmaia Convergence of Submodality-Specific Input Onto Neurons in Primary Somatosensory Cortex J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2009; 102(3): 1843 - 1853. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Reed, P. Pouget, H.-X. Qi, Z. Zhou, M. R. Bernard, M. J. Burish, J. Haitas, A. B. Bonds, and J. H. Kaas Widespread spatial integration in primary somatosensory cortex PNAS, July 22, 2008; 105(29): 10233 - 10237. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Foffani, J. K. Chapin, and K. A. Moxon Computational Role of Large Receptive Fields in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2008; 100(1): 268 - 280. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Muniak, S. Ray, S. S. Hsiao, J. F. Dammann, and S. J. Bensmaia The Neural Coding of Stimulus Intensity: Linking the Population Response of Mechanoreceptive Afferents with Psychophysical Behavior J. Neurosci., October 24, 2007; 27(43): 11687 - 11699. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Stilla, G. Deshpande, S. LaConte, X. Hu, and K. Sathian Posteromedial Parietal Cortical Activity and Inputs Predict Tactile Spatial Acuity J. Neurosci., October 10, 2007; 27(41): 11091 - 11102. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. H. Thakur, P. J. Fitzgerald, J. W. Lane, and S. S. Hsiao Receptive Field Properties of the Macaque Second Somatosensory Cortex: Nonlinear Mechanisms Underlying the Representation of Orientation Within a Finger Pad J. Neurosci., December 27, 2006; 26(52): 13567 - 13575. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. A. Allen and R. D. Freeman Dynamic spatial processing originates in early visual pathways. J. Neurosci., November 8, 2006; 26(45): 11763 - 11774. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help