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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Specific forms of neural activity associated with tactile space awareness

Paolo Maria RossiniMassimiliano OliveriMaria Maddalena FilippiPaola CicinelliCarlo CaltagironeRaimondo Traversa

subject

AdultMalegenetic structuresPosterior parietal cortexStimulationBrain damageStimulus (physiology)Synaptic TransmissionFunctional LateralityLateralization of brain functionExtinction PsychologicalHypesthesiaPerceptual DisordersMagneticsEvoked Potentials SomatosensoryParietal LobePhysical StimulationReaction TimemedicineHumansAttentionAgedAged 80 and overGeneral NeuroscienceParietal lobeNeural InhibitionMiddle AgedTactile perceptionElectric StimulationTouchBrain InjuriesSpace PerceptionFemalemedicine.symptomPsychologyNeurosciencePsychomotor PerformanceElectrical brain stimulationCognitive psychology

description

Left tactile extinction, in which a left tactile stimulus fails to access consciousness only when a right stimulus is presented simultaneously, offers a model for studying tactile awareness from its transitory absence. Pairs of transcranial magnetic stimuli (TMS) on the parietal cortex inhibit contralateral tactile perception when separated by an interval of 1 ms. We have applied this technique on the left parietal cortex of right brain damaged (RBD) patients and normal subjects and have shown a selective lack of paired TMS inhibitory effects on right tactile perception of patients during bimanual stimulation. TMS effects were normal during unimanual right stimulation. These results suggest the presence of a specific pattern of inhibitory/excitatory interactions in parietal brain areas as critical for tactile awareness.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2002-06-13Neuroreport
https://doi.org/10.1097/00001756-200206120-00002