Relationship between Tactile Sensation, Motor Activity, and Differential Brain Activity in Young Individuals

In this study, we compared the differences in brain activation associated with the different types of objects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-six participants in their 20s underwent fMRI while grasping four different types of objects. After the experiment, all of the parti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain sciences 2022-07, Vol.12 (7), p.924
Main Authors: Kobayashi, Ryota, Sakurai, Noriko, Nagasaka, Kazuaki, Kasai, Satoshi, Kodama, Naoki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain
brain activity
Brain mapping
Cerebellum
Cortex (motor)
Cortex (somatosensory)
Experiments
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Grasping
Magnetic resonance imaging
Motor activity
Neuroimaging
Older people
Postcentral gyrus
Precentral gyrus
Sensation
tactile sensation
Tactile stimuli
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Summary:In this study, we compared the differences in brain activation associated with the different types of objects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-six participants in their 20s underwent fMRI while grasping four different types of objects. After the experiment, all of the participants completed a questionnaire based on the Likert Scale, which asked them about the sensations they experienced while grasping each object (comfort, hardness, pain, ease in grasping). We investigated the relationship between brain activity and the results of the survey; characteristic brain activity for each object was correlated with the results of the questionnaire, indicating that each object produced a different sensation response in the participants. Additionally, we observed brain activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (postcentral gyrus), the primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus), and the cerebellum exterior during the gripping task. Our study shows that gripping different objects produces activity in specific and distinct brain regions and suggests an “action appraisal” mechanism, which is considered to be the act of integrating multiple different sensory information and connecting it to actual action. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to observe brain activity in response to tactile stimuli and motor activity simultaneously.
ISSN:2076-3425
2076-3425
DOI:10.3390/brainsci12070924