ArticleNature communications2022
Texture is encoded in precise temporal spiking patterns in primate somatosensory cortex.
Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- A framework for quantifying the mechanics of dexterous grasp.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Contribution of spike timing to the neural code: from fast to slow timescales.Biological cybernetics · 2026Review
- Vibroacoustic signatures: proof of concept for simple material characterization during needle interventions.International journal of computer assisted radiology and surgery · 2025Article
- Training-Free Regulation of Grasping by Intracortical Tactile Feedback Designed via S1-M1 Communication.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Optimization frameworks for bespoke sensory encoding in neuroprosthetics.APL bioengineering · 2025Article
- A spatial code for temporal information is necessary for efficient sensory learning.Science advances · 2025Article
- Tactile exploration and imagery elicit distinct neural dynamics in the parietal cortical network.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Towards Precise Synthetic Neural Codes: High-dimensional Stimulation with Flexible Electrodes.Npj flexible electronics · 2025Article
- Disentangling Temporal and Rate Codes in the Primate Somatosensory Cortex.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Article
- The role of stimulus periodicity on spinal cord stimulation-induced artificial sensations in rodents.Journal of neural engineering · 2024Article
- Processing the fine-grained features of tactile textures involves the primary somatosensory cortex.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Modulating Brain Activity with Invasive Brain-Computer Interface: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Evidence for vibration coding of sliding tactile textures in auditory cortex.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- Differential Recovery of Submodality Touch Neurons and Interareal Communication in Sensory Input-Deprived Area 3b and S2 Cortices.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2022Article
- Population coding strategies in human tactile afferents.PLoS computational biology · 2022Article
- Physiological noise facilitates multiplexed coding of vibrotactile-like signals in somatosensory cortex.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Temporally Local Tactile Codes Can Be Stored in Working Memory.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Humans are exquisitely sensitive to the microstructure and material properties of surfaces. In the peripheral nerves, texture information is conveyed via two mechanisms: coarse textural features are encoded in spatial patterns of activation that reflect their spatial layout, and fine features are encoded in highly repeatable, texture-specific temporal spiking patterns evoked as the skin moves across the surface. Here, we examined whether this temporal code is preserved in the responses of neurons in somatosensory cortex. We scanned a diverse set of everyday textures across the fingertip of awake macaques while recording the responses evoked in individual cortical neurons. We found that temporal spiking patterns are highly repeatable across multiple presentations of the same texture, with millisecond precision. As a result, texture identity can be reliably decoded from the temporal patterns themselves, even after information carried in the spike rates is eliminated. However, the combination of rate and timing is more informative than either code in isolation. The temporal precision of the texture response is heterogenous across cortical neurons and depends on the submodality composition of their input and on their location along the somatosensory neuraxis. Furthermore, temporal spiking patterns in cortex dilate and contract with decreases and increases in scanning speed, respectively, and this systematic relationship between speed and patterning may contribute to the observed perceptual invariance to speed. Finally, we find that the quality of a texture percept can be better predicted when these temporal patterns are taken into consideration. We conclude that high-precision spike timing complements rate-based signals to encode texture in somatosensory cortex.
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