Mesoscale hierarchical organization of primary somatosensory cortex captured by resting-state-fMRI in humans

Geoffrey N Ngo, Koen V Haak, Christian F Beckmann, Ravi S Menon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

The primary somatosensory cortex (S1) plays a key role in the processing and integration of afferent somatosensory inputs along an anterior-to-posterior axis, contributing towards necessary human function. It is believed that anatomical connectivity can be used to probe hierarchical organization, however direct characterization of this principle in-vivo within humans remains elusive. Here, we use resting-state functional connectivity as a complement to anatomical connectivity to investigate topographical principles of human S1. We employ a novel approach to examine mesoscopic variations of functional connectivity, and demonstrate a topographic organisation spanning the region's hierarchical axis that strongly correlates with underlying microstructure while tracing along architectonic Brodmann areas. Our findings characterize anatomical hierarchy of S1 as a 'continuous spectrum' with evidence supporting a functional boundary between areas 3b and 1. The identification of this topography bridges the gap between structure and connectivity, and may be used to help further current understanding of sensorimotor deficits.

Original languageEnglish
Article number118031
Number of pages11
JournalNeuroimage
Volume235
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Brain Mapping
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Nerve Net
  • Neural Pathways/anatomy & histology
  • Rest/physiology
  • Somatosensory Cortex/anatomy & histology
  • Thalamus/anatomy & histology

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