TY - JOUR
T1 - Somatotopic mapping of the human breast using 7 T functional MRI
AU - Beugels, Jop
AU - van den Hurk, Job
AU - Peters, Judith C
AU - Heuts, Esther M
AU - Tuinder, Stefania M H
AU - Goebel, Rainer
AU - van der Hulst, René R W J
N1 - Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - How are tactile sensations in the breast represented in the female and male brain? Using ultra high-field 7 T MRI in ten females and ten males, we demonstrate that the representation of tactile breast information shows a somatotopic organization, with cortical magnification of the nipple. Furthermore, we show that the core representation of the breast is organized according to the specific nerve architecture that underlies breast sensation, where the medial and lateral sides of one breast are asymmetrically represented in bilateral primary somatosensory cortex. Finally, gradual selectivity signatures allude to a somatotopic organization of the breast area with overlapping, but distinctive, cortical representations of breast segments. Our univariate and multivariate analyses consistently showed similar somatosensory breast representations in males and females. The findings can guide future research on neuroplastic reorganization of the breast area, across reproductive life stages, and after breast surgery.
AB - How are tactile sensations in the breast represented in the female and male brain? Using ultra high-field 7 T MRI in ten females and ten males, we demonstrate that the representation of tactile breast information shows a somatotopic organization, with cortical magnification of the nipple. Furthermore, we show that the core representation of the breast is organized according to the specific nerve architecture that underlies breast sensation, where the medial and lateral sides of one breast are asymmetrically represented in bilateral primary somatosensory cortex. Finally, gradual selectivity signatures allude to a somatotopic organization of the breast area with overlapping, but distinctive, cortical representations of breast segments. Our univariate and multivariate analyses consistently showed similar somatosensory breast representations in males and females. The findings can guide future research on neuroplastic reorganization of the breast area, across reproductive life stages, and after breast surgery.
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116201
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116201
M3 - Article
C2 - 31541697
SN - 1053-8119
VL - 204
SP - 116201
JO - NeuroImage
JF - NeuroImage
ER -