Digit somatotopy in the human cerebellum: a 7T fMRI study.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_2AF4F733F0DE
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Digit somatotopy in the human cerebellum: a 7T fMRI study.
Journal
Neuroimage
Author(s)
van der Zwaag W., Kusters R., Magill A., Gruetter R., Martuzzi R., Blanke O., Marques J.P.
ISSN
1095-9572 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1053-8119
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2013
Volume
67
Pages
354-362
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tPublication Status: ppublish
Abstract
The representation of the human body in the human cerebellum is still relatively unknown, compared to the well-studied homunculus in the primary somatosensory cortex. The investigation of the body representation in the cerebellum and its somatotopic organisation is complicated because of the relatively small dimensions of the cerebellum, compared to the cerebrum. Somatotopically organised whole-body homunculi have previously been reported in both humans and rats. However, whether individual digits are represented in the cerebellum in a somatotopically organised way is much less clear. In this study, the high spatial resolution and high sensitivity to the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal of 7T fMRI were employed to study the BOLD responses in the human cerebellum to the stroking of the skin of individual digits, the hand and forearm. For the first time, a coarse somatotopic organisation of the digits, ordered from D1-D5, could be visualised in individual human subjects in both the anterior (lobule V) and the posterior (lobule VIII) lobes of the cerebellum using a somatosensory stimulus. The somatotopic gradient in lobule V was found consistently in the posterior to anterior direction, with the thumb most posterior, while the direction of the somatotopic gradient in lobule VIII differed between subjects. No somatotopic organisation was found in Crus I. A comparison of the digit patches with the hand patch revealed that the digit regions are completely covered by the hand region in both the anterior and posterior lobes of the cerebellum, in a non-somatotopic manner. These results demonstrate the promise of ultra-high field, high-resolution fMRI for studies of the cerebellum.
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
29/04/2013 10:41
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:10
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