Vibrotactile and Electrocutaneous Stimuli Activate Distinct But Overlapping Areas in Primary Somatosensory Cortex That Differ in Their Stimulus-Response Properties

Feng Wang¹, Robert Friedman¹, Chaohui Tang¹, Malcolm Avison¹

To examine the role of dorsal column (DC) and spinothalamic (ST) spinal cord afferents to primary somatosensory (SI) cortex, we compared the cortical and thalamic topography and stimulus response properties associated with vibrotactile (VS) and electrocutaneous stimulation (ES) of single digits in anesthetized squirrel monkeys. VS, which activates only the DC inputs and ES, which activates both DC and ST afferents, elicited similar stimulus responses in area 3b, but very different responses in areas 1 and 3a.