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  4. Hand and face somatotopy shown using MRI-safe vibrotactile stimulation with a novel soft pneumatic actuator (SPA)-skin interface
 
research article

Hand and face somatotopy shown using MRI-safe vibrotactile stimulation with a novel soft pneumatic actuator (SPA)-skin interface

Kikkert, Sanne
•
Sonar, Harshal A.
•
Freund, Patrick
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February 11, 2023
Neuroimage

The exact somatotopy of the human facial representation in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) remains de-bated. One reason that progress has been hampered is due to the methodological challenge of how to apply automated vibrotactile stimuli to face areas in a manner that is: (1) reliable despite differences in the cur-vatures of face locations; and (2) MR-compatible and free of MR-interference artefacts when applied in the MR head-coil. Here we overcome this challenge by using soft pneumatic actuator (SPA) technology. SPAs are made of a soft silicon material and can be in-or deflated by means of airflow, have a small diameter, and are flexible in structure, enabling good skin contact even on curved body surfaces (as on the face). To vali-date our approach, we first mapped the well-characterised S1 finger layout using this novel device and con-firmed that tactile stimulation of the fingers elicited characteristic somatotopic finger activations in S1. We then used the device to automatically and systematically deliver somatosensory stimulation to different face locations. We found that the forehead representation was least distant from the representation of the hand. Within the face representation, we found that the lip representation is most distant from the forehead represen-tation, with the chin represented in between. Together, our results demonstrate that this novel MR compatible device produces robust and clear somatotopic representational patterns using vibrotactile stimulation through SPA-technology.

  • Details
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Type
research article
DOI
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119932
Web of Science ID

WOS:000943096300001

Author(s)
Kikkert, Sanne
Sonar, Harshal A.
Freund, Patrick
Paik, Jamie  
Wenderoth, Nicole
Date Issued

2023-02-11

Publisher

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Published in
Neuroimage
Volume

269

Article Number

119932

Subjects

Neurosciences

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Neuroimaging

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Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging

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Neurosciences & Neurology

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somatosensory

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vibrotactile technology

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fmri

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face

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hand

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soft pneumatic actuators

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human somatosensory cortex

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representation

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accurate

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robust

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motor

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localization

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optimization

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array

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
RRL  
Available on Infoscience
April 10, 2023
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/196801
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