Sambo CF, Liang M, Cruccu G, Iannetti GD. Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face. J Neurophysiol 107: 880-889, 2012. First published November 16, 2011; doi:10.1152/jn.00731.2011.-Electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist may elicit a blink reflex [hand blink reflex (HBR)] mediated by a neural circuit at brain stem level. As, in a Sherringtonian sense, the blink reflex is a defensive response, in a series of experiments we tested, in healthy volunteers, whether and how the HBR is modulated by the proximity of the stimulated hand to the face. Electromyographic activity was recorded from the orbicularis oculi, bilaterally. We observed that the HBR is enhanced when the stimulated hand is inside the peripersonal space of the face, compared with when it is outside, irrespective of whether the proximity of the hand to the face is manipulated by changing the position of the arm (experiment 1) or by rotating the head while keeping the arm position constant (experiment 3). Experiment 2 showed that such HBR enhancement has similar magnitude when the participants have their eyes closed. Experiments 4 and 5 showed, respectively, that the blink reflex elicited by the electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve, as well as the N20 wave of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by the median nerve stimulation, are entirely unaffected by hand position. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that the brain stem circuits mediating the HBR in humans undergo tonic and selective top-down modulation from higher order cortical areas responsible for encoding the location of somatosensory stimuli in external space coordinates. These findings support the existence of a "defensive" peripersonal space, representing a safety margin advantageous for survival.

Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face / C. f., Sambo; M., Liang; Cruccu, Giorgio; G. d., Iannetti. - In: JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY. - ISSN 0022-3077. - 107:3(2012), pp. 880-889. [10.1152/jn.00731.2011]

Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face

CRUCCU, Giorgio;
2012

Abstract

Sambo CF, Liang M, Cruccu G, Iannetti GD. Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face. J Neurophysiol 107: 880-889, 2012. First published November 16, 2011; doi:10.1152/jn.00731.2011.-Electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist may elicit a blink reflex [hand blink reflex (HBR)] mediated by a neural circuit at brain stem level. As, in a Sherringtonian sense, the blink reflex is a defensive response, in a series of experiments we tested, in healthy volunteers, whether and how the HBR is modulated by the proximity of the stimulated hand to the face. Electromyographic activity was recorded from the orbicularis oculi, bilaterally. We observed that the HBR is enhanced when the stimulated hand is inside the peripersonal space of the face, compared with when it is outside, irrespective of whether the proximity of the hand to the face is manipulated by changing the position of the arm (experiment 1) or by rotating the head while keeping the arm position constant (experiment 3). Experiment 2 showed that such HBR enhancement has similar magnitude when the participants have their eyes closed. Experiments 4 and 5 showed, respectively, that the blink reflex elicited by the electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve, as well as the N20 wave of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by the median nerve stimulation, are entirely unaffected by hand position. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that the brain stem circuits mediating the HBR in humans undergo tonic and selective top-down modulation from higher order cortical areas responsible for encoding the location of somatosensory stimuli in external space coordinates. These findings support the existence of a "defensive" peripersonal space, representing a safety margin advantageous for survival.
2012
body posture; brain stem circuits; cortex; space representation
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face / C. f., Sambo; M., Liang; Cruccu, Giorgio; G. d., Iannetti. - In: JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY. - ISSN 0022-3077. - 107:3(2012), pp. 880-889. [10.1152/jn.00731.2011]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/435913
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