Paired associative stimulation (PAS) protocols can be used to induce Hebbian plasticity in the human brain. A modified, cross-modal version, of the PAS (cross-modal PAS, cm-PAS) has been recently developed. The cm-PAS consists in the repetitive pairings of a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulse over the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and a visual stimulus depicting a hand being touched; a 20 ms of inter-stimulus interval (ISI) is required to affect S1 plasticity, in turn modulating tactile acuity and somatosensory evoked potentials. The present study explores the role of anticipatory simulation in the cm-PAS efficacy, which could be responsible for such a short ISI. To this aim, we compared the effect of the original, fixed-frequency, cm-PAS to that of a jittered version, in which the time interval between trials was not steady but jittered, hence avoiding the anticipation of the upcoming visual-touch stimulus. Moreover, in the jittered PAS, the ISI between the paired stimulations was varied: it could match the early, somatosensory-driven, activation of S1 (20 ms), or the mirror recruitment of S1 by touch observation (150 ms). Results showed that tactile acuity is enhanced by the fixed-frequency cm-PAS, with an ISI of 20 ms between paired stimulation (visual-touch stimulus and TMS pulse over S1), and also by the jittered cm-PAS but only if the ISI is of 150 ms. These findings suggest that the cm-PAS with a jittered frequency, by preventing an anticipatory pre-activation of S1, delays the timing of the interaction between the visual-touch stimulus and the cortical pulse. On a broader perspective, our study highlights the possible involvement of sensory anticipation, likely through mirror-like simulation mechanisms, in tactile mirroring, as well as its influence of the optimal interval between the afferent and the magnetic pulse during PAS protocols.

Maddaluno, O., Guidali, G., Zazio, A., Miniussi, C., Bolognini, N. (2020). Touch anticipation mediates cross-modal Hebbian plasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex. CORTEX, 126, 173-181 [10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.008].

Touch anticipation mediates cross-modal Hebbian plasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex

Maddaluno, Ottavia
Co-primo
;
Guidali, Giacomo
Co-primo
;
Zazio, Agnese
Secondo
;
Bolognini, Nadia
Ultimo
2020

Abstract

Paired associative stimulation (PAS) protocols can be used to induce Hebbian plasticity in the human brain. A modified, cross-modal version, of the PAS (cross-modal PAS, cm-PAS) has been recently developed. The cm-PAS consists in the repetitive pairings of a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulse over the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and a visual stimulus depicting a hand being touched; a 20 ms of inter-stimulus interval (ISI) is required to affect S1 plasticity, in turn modulating tactile acuity and somatosensory evoked potentials. The present study explores the role of anticipatory simulation in the cm-PAS efficacy, which could be responsible for such a short ISI. To this aim, we compared the effect of the original, fixed-frequency, cm-PAS to that of a jittered version, in which the time interval between trials was not steady but jittered, hence avoiding the anticipation of the upcoming visual-touch stimulus. Moreover, in the jittered PAS, the ISI between the paired stimulations was varied: it could match the early, somatosensory-driven, activation of S1 (20 ms), or the mirror recruitment of S1 by touch observation (150 ms). Results showed that tactile acuity is enhanced by the fixed-frequency cm-PAS, with an ISI of 20 ms between paired stimulation (visual-touch stimulus and TMS pulse over S1), and also by the jittered cm-PAS but only if the ISI is of 150 ms. These findings suggest that the cm-PAS with a jittered frequency, by preventing an anticipatory pre-activation of S1, delays the timing of the interaction between the visual-touch stimulus and the cortical pulse. On a broader perspective, our study highlights the possible involvement of sensory anticipation, likely through mirror-like simulation mechanisms, in tactile mirroring, as well as its influence of the optimal interval between the afferent and the magnetic pulse during PAS protocols.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
paired associative stimulation; sensory anticipation; sensory simulation; crossmodal plasticity; somatosensory cortex; Hebbian learning
English
30-gen-2020
2020
126
173
181
reserved
Maddaluno, O., Guidali, G., Zazio, A., Miniussi, C., Bolognini, N. (2020). Touch anticipation mediates cross-modal Hebbian plasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex. CORTEX, 126, 173-181 [10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.008].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/259830
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