Abstract
BackgroundA mechanism that monitors the congruence between sensory inputs and motor outputs is necessary to control voluntary movement. The representation of limb position is constantly updated on the basis of somatosensory and visual information and efference copy from motor areas. However, the cortical mechanism underlying detection of limb position using somatosensory and visual information has not been elucidated. This study investigated the influence of visual feedback on information processing in somatosensory areas during movement execution using magnetoencephalography. We used an experimental condition in which the visual information was incongruent despite the motor execution and somatosensory feedback being congruent. Subjects performed self-paced bimanual movements of both thumbs, either symmetric or asymmetric, under normal visual and mirrored conditions. The mirror condition provided a visual feedback by showing a reflection of the subject’s right hand in place of the left hand. Therefore, in the Asymmetric task of the Mirror condition, subjects saw symmetric movements despite performing asymmetric movements.ResultsActivation in the primary somatosensory area (SI) revealed inhibition of neural activity and that in the secondary somatosensory area (SII) showed enhancement with voluntary movement. In addition, the SII contralateral to the side of stimulation was significantly enhanced in the Asymmetric task of the Mirror condition, which provided non-veridical visual feedback.ConclusionsThese results suggested that visual information influenced the neuronal activity concerning sensorimotor interaction in the SII during motor execution. The SII contributes to the detection of unpredicted visual feedback of movement execution.
Highlights
A mechanism that monitors the congruence between sensory inputs and motor outputs is necessary to control voluntary movement
The earliest deflection of the root sum square” (RSS) waveforms was identified in the central region contralateral to the side stimulated at around 20 ms after the stimulation (M20) and the subsequent deflection peaking at around 35 ms (M35)
The source of the M95 was estimated to be around the parietal cortex (PC) in the posterior wall of the postcentral sulcus
Summary
A mechanism that monitors the congruence between sensory inputs and motor outputs is necessary to control voluntary movement. This study investigated the influence of visual feedback on information processing in somatosensory areas during movement execution using magnetoencephalography. We used an experimental condition in which the visual information was incongruent despite the motor execution and somatosensory feedback being congruent. The information for movement is provided by visual and somatosensory feedback and the integration of crossmodal sensory processing and motor command is critical for motor control. Cross-modal links between visual and somatosensory information have shown the critical role of vision in determining limb position and localizing tactile sensations [6,7,8,9]. There is evidence that vision of the body is crucial for localization of tactile stimuli [13,14] These results indicate that the visual information changes the information processing in somatosensory areas
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