{"title":"On the geometry of somatosensory representations in the Cortex","authors":"Noam Saadon-Grosman , Tsahi Asher , Yonatan Loewenstein","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121321","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The processing of somatosensory information in the cortex is often described using body maps, where adjacent cortical regions correspond to adjacent body parts. Additionally, the somatosensory cortex follows a hierarchical structure, which extends from the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) to higher cortical regions. While previous studies have identified multiple body maps and various hierarchy relations, the large-scale organization of these maps and their interactions have been less explored. Using functional MRI with full-body light touch stimulation, we discovered that in S1, body and hierarchy maps are orthogonal, but this orthogonality does not extend to other regions. On a larger scale, both body representation and hierarchy exhibit a radial organization, with a few central extrema governing numerous cortical regions. Similar patterns of radial organization in the visual and auditory systems suggest that radial topography may be a general organizational feature across sensory systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"317 ","pages":"Article 121321"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NeuroImage","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925003246","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NEUROIMAGING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The processing of somatosensory information in the cortex is often described using body maps, where adjacent cortical regions correspond to adjacent body parts. Additionally, the somatosensory cortex follows a hierarchical structure, which extends from the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) to higher cortical regions. While previous studies have identified multiple body maps and various hierarchy relations, the large-scale organization of these maps and their interactions have been less explored. Using functional MRI with full-body light touch stimulation, we discovered that in S1, body and hierarchy maps are orthogonal, but this orthogonality does not extend to other regions. On a larger scale, both body representation and hierarchy exhibit a radial organization, with a few central extrema governing numerous cortical regions. Similar patterns of radial organization in the visual and auditory systems suggest that radial topography may be a general organizational feature across sensory systems.
期刊介绍:
NeuroImage, a Journal of Brain Function provides a vehicle for communicating important advances in acquiring, analyzing, and modelling neuroimaging data and in applying these techniques to the study of structure-function and brain-behavior relationships. Though the emphasis is on the macroscopic level of human brain organization, meso-and microscopic neuroimaging across all species will be considered if informative for understanding the aforementioned relationships.