Layer-specific changes in sensory cortex across the lifespan in mice and humans - Nature Neuroscience

The principal layer architecture of the sensory cortex is altered with aging. The authors show that overall thinning of the primary somatosensory cortex is driven by deep layer degeneration but that layer IV is more pronounced in old age.

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Dr Nick Holmes 💚🦆🌶💉🇺🇦 on Twitter

“hello #brainstim folk. If you aim to stimulate #somatosensory cortex, please ignore the '2cm rule' for finding #S1-hand. This heuristic appears in the majority of #TMS papers. We know this heuristic is wrong (papers below), for example (red=M1-hand, blue=S1-hand) 1/6:”

Dorsal root ganglia control nociceptive input to the central nervous system

Information transmitted along the peripheral somatosensory nerves can be actively modified at the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). This study demonstrates the existence of tonic and dynamic GABAergic filtering of action potentials traveling through the DRG, with therapeutic implications for pain relief.

Dorsal root ganglia control nociceptive input to the central nervous system

Information transmitted along the peripheral somatosensory nerves can be actively modified at the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). This study demonstrates the existence of tonic and dynamic GABAergic filtering of action potentials traveling through the DRG, with therapeutic implications for pain relief.

Dorsal root ganglia control nociceptive input to the central nervous system

Information transmitted along the peripheral somatosensory nerves can be actively modified at the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). This study demonstrates the existence of tonic and dynamic GABAergic filtering of action potentials traveling through the DRG, with therapeutic implications for pain relief.

Towards a Somatosensory Theory of Speech Perception | Journal of Neurophysiology

Speech perception is known to be a multimodal process, relying not only on auditory input, but also on the visual system and possibly on the motor system as well. To date there has been little work on the potential involvement of the somatosensory system in speech perception. In the current review, we identify the somatosensory system as another contributor to speech perception. First, we argue that evidence in favor of a motor contribution to speech perception can just as easily be interpreted as showing somatosensory involvement. Second, physiological and neuroanatomical evidence for auditory-somatosensory interactions across the auditory hierarchy indicates the availability of a neural infrastructure that supports somatosensory involvement in auditory processing in general. Third, there is accumulating evidence for somatosensory involvement in the context of speech specifically. In particular, tactile stimulation modifies speech perception, and speech auditory input elicits activity in somatosensory cortical areas. Moreover, speech sounds can be decoded from activity in somatosensory cortex; lesions to this region affect perception, and vowels can be identified based on somatic input alone. We suggest the somatosensory involvement in speech perception derives from the somatosensory-auditory pairing which occurs during speech production and learning. By bringing together findings from a set of studies that have not been previously linked, the current paper identifies the somatosensory system as a presently unrecognized contributor to speech perception.