Pleger, B.;
Ruff, C.C.;
Blankenburg, F.;
Bestmann, S.;
Wiech, K.;
Stephan, K.E.;
Capilla, A.;
... Dolan, R.J.; + view all
(2006)
Neural coding of tactile decisions in the human prefrontal cortex.
Journal of Neuroscience
, 26
(48)
pp. 12596-12601.
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4275-06.2006.
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Abstract
The neural processes underlying tactile decisions in the human brain remain elusive. We addressed this question in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using a somatosensory discrimination task, requiring participants to compare the frequency of two successive tactile stimuli. Tactile stimuli per se engaged somatosensory, parietal, and frontal cortical regions. Using a statistical model that accounted for the relative difference in frequencies (i.e., Weber fraction) and discrimination accuracy (i.e., correct or incorrect), we show that trial-by-trial relative frequency difference is represented linearly by activity changes in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral anterior insular cortices. However, a circumscribed region within the left DLPFC showed a different response pattern expressed as activity changes that were monotonically related to relative stimulation difference only for correct but not for incorrect trials. Our findings suggest that activity in the left DLPFC encodes stimulus representations that underlie veridical tactile decisions in humans.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Neural coding of tactile decisions in the human prefrontal cortex |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4275-06.2006 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4275-06.2006 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Published by the Society of Neuroscience. Article reproduced here for non-commercial purposes under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. For further information see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Keywords: | Tactile decision, tactile discrimination, Weber fraction, somatosensory cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, functional magnetic resonance imaging |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Department of Neuromuscular Diseases |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/5962 |
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