Instituto de Fisiología Celular─Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
Nat Commun. 2021 Mar 31;12(1):2000. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22321-x.
A crucial role of cortical networks is the conversion of sensory inputs into perception. In the cortical somatosensory network, neurons of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) show invariant sensory responses, while frontal lobe neuronal activity correlates with the animal's perceptual behavior. Here, we report that in the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), neurons with invariant sensory responses coexist with neurons whose responses correlate with perceptual behavior. Importantly, the vast majority of the neurons fall along a continuum of combined sensory and categorical dynamics. Furthermore, during a non-demanding control task, the sensory responses remain unaltered while the sensory information exhibits an increase. However, perceptual responses and the associated categorical information decrease, implicating a task context-dependent processing mechanism. Conclusively, S2 neurons exhibit intriguing dynamics that are intermediate between those of S1 and frontal lobe. Our results contribute relevant evidence about the role that S2 plays in the conversion of touch into perception.
皮质网络的一个关键作用是将感觉输入转化为知觉。在皮质体感网络中，初级体感皮层（S1）的神经元表现出不变的感觉反应，而额叶神经元的活动与动物的感知行为相关。在这里，我们报告说，在次级体感皮层（S2）中，具有不变感觉反应的神经元与那些反应与感知行为相关的神经元共存。重要的是，绝大多数神经元沿着感觉和类别动态的连续体排列。此外，在一个不要求的控制任务中，感觉反应保持不变，而感觉信息增加。然而，感知反应和相关的类别信息减少，这表明存在任务上下文相关的处理机制。总之，S2 神经元表现出有趣的动态，它们介于 S1 和额叶之间。我们的结果提供了关于 S2 在触觉转化为感知过程中所起作用的相关证据。
