title: Understanding the role of the primary somatosensory cortex: Opportunities for rehabilitation.
abstract: Emerging evidence indicates impairments in somatosensory function may be a major contributor to motor dysfunction associated with neurologic injury or disorders. However, the neuroanatomical substrates underlying the connection between aberrant sensory input and ineffective motor output are still under investigation. The primary somatosensory cortex (S1) plays a critical role in processing afferent somatosensory input and contributes to the integration of sensory and motor signals necessary for skilled movement. Neuroimaging and neurostimulation approaches provide unique opportunities to non-invasively study S1 structure and function including connectivity with other cortical regions. These research techniques have begun to illuminate casual contributions of abnormal S1 activity and connectivity to motor dysfunction and poorer recovery of motor function in neurologic patient populations. This review synthesizes recent evidence illustrating the role of S1 in motor control, motor learning and functional recovery with an emphasis on how information from these investigations may be exploited to inform stroke rehabilitation to reduce motor dysfunction and improve therapeutic outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA. Electronic address: michael.borich@emory.edu.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Borich
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ionta
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA; Brain Behaviour Laboratory & Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Boyd
mesh_terms: D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D059906:Neuroimaging; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Motor control; Motor learning; Neuroimaging; Noninvasive brain stimulation; Primary somatosensory cortex; Rehabilitation; Stroke