Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on June 24, 2004
Cerebral Cortex 2004 14(12):1340-1345; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhh094
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary tables and figures
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
14/12/1340    most recent
bhh094v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (20)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bingel, U.
Right arrow Articles by Büchel, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bingel, U.
Right arrow Articles by Büchel, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© Oxford University Press 2004

Article

Somatotopic Representation of Nociceptive Information in the Putamen: An Event-related fMRI Study

U. Bingel, J. Gläscher, C. Weiller and C. Büchel

NeuroImage Nord, Department of Neurology, Hamburg University Medical School, Germany

The ability to locate pain plays a pivotal role in immediate defence and withdrawal behaviour. However, it is unclear to what extent nociceptive information is relayed to and processed in subcortical structures relevant for motor preparation and possibly the generation of withdrawal behaviour. We used single-trial functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess whether nociceptive information is represented in the putamen in a somatotopic manner. We therefore applied thulium–YAG laser-evoked pain stimuli, which had no concomitant tactile component, to the dorsum of the left hand and foot to 15 healthy subjects in a randomized order. In addition, 11 subjects were stimulated on the right body side. Differential representations of hand- and foot-related blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses within the putamen were assessed using a single subject approach. Nociceptive stimuli significantly activated the putamen bilaterally. However, a somatotopic organization for hand- and foot-related responses was only present in the contralateral putamen. Here the foot was located anteriorly and medially to the hand, which parallels results from anatomical and microstimulation studies in monkeys and also human imaging data on the arrangement of movement related activity in the putamen. This result provides evidence for the hypothesis that behaviourally relevant nociceptive information without additional information from the tactile system is represented in the putamen and made available for pain related motor responses.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 BrainHome page
A. Lebel, L. Becerra, D. Wallin, E. A. Moulton, S. Morris, G. Pendse, J. Jasciewicz, M. Stein, M. Aiello-Lammens, E. Grant, et al.
fMRI reveals distinct CNS processing during symptomatic and recovered complex regional pain syndrome in children
Brain, July 1, 2008; 131(7): 1854 - 1879.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
L. Becerra, S. Morris, S. Bazes, R. Gostic, S. Sherman, J. Gostic, G. Pendse, E. Moulton, S. Scrivani, D. Keith, et al.
Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain Alters Responses in CNS Circuits to Mechanical (Brush) and Thermal (Cold and Heat) Stimuli.
J. Neurosci., October 18, 2006; 26(42): 10646 - 10657.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
Y. Qiu, Y. Noguchi, M. Honda, H. Nakata, Y. Tamura, S. Tanaka, N. Sadato, X. Wang, K. Inui, and R. Kakigi
Brain Processing of the Signals Ascending Through Unmyelinated C Fibers in Humans: An Event-Related Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2006; 16(9): 1289 - 1295.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
D. Lloyd, I. Morrison, and N. Roberts
Role for Human Posterior Parietal Cortex in Visual Processing of Aversive Objects in Peripersonal Space
J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2006; 95(1): 205 - 214.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.