title: Resting BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex correlate with tactile acuity.
abstract: Sensory perception, including 2-point discrimination (2 ptD), is tightly linked to cortical processing of tactile stimuli in primary somatosensory cortices. While the role of cortical activity in response to a tactile stimulus has been widely investigated, the role of baseline cortical activity is largely unknown. Using resting state fMRI we investigated the relationship between local BOLD fluctuations in the primary somatosensory cortex (the representational field of the hand) and 2 ptD of the corresponding index finger (right and left). Cortical activity was measured using fractional amplitudes of the low frequency BOLD fluctuations (fALFF) and synchronicity using regional homogeneity (ReHo) of the S1 hand region during rest. 2 ptD correlated with higher ReHo values in the representational areas of the contralateral S1 cortex (left hand: p = .028; right hand: p = .049). 2 ptD additionally correlated with higher fALFF in the representational area of the left hand (p = .007) and showed a trend for a significant correlation in the representational area of the right hand (p = .051). Thus, higher BOLD amplitudes and synchronicity at rest, as measures of cortical activity and synchronicity, respectively, are related to better tactile discrimination abilities of the contralateral hand. Our findings extend the relationship seen between spontaneous BOLD fluctuations and sensory perception.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: lauren.haag@rub.de.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Haag
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: stefanie.heba@rub.de.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heba
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: melanie.lenz@rub.de.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: benjamin.glaubitz@rub.de.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Glaubitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: oliver.hoeffken@rub.de.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Höffken
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroinformatics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: tobias.kalisch@rub.de.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kalisch
authors.affiliation: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: nickputs@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nicholaas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Puts
authors.affiliation: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: raee2@mri.jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Richard A E
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Edden
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: martin.tegenthoff@bergmannsheil.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tegenthoff
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroinformatics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: hubert.dinse@rub.de.
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dinse
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BG-University Clinic Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: tobias.schmidt-wilcke@bergmannsheil.de.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Wilcke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations; Regional homogeneity; Resting state fMRI; Tactile perception