Ipsilateral hand input to area 3b revealed by converging hemodynamic and electrophysiological analyses in macaque monkeys

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the hand representation in primary somatosensory cortex (area 3b) of macaque monkeys revealed an ipsilateral hand input undetected by most previous studies. Ipsilateral responses had a hemodynamic signature indistinguishable from that of contralateral hand responses. We explored the neural mechanisms of the fMRI effects using a second derivative analysis of field potentials [current source density (CSD) analysis] combined with action potential profiles, sampled from area 3b using linear array multielectrodes. In contrast to the predominantly excitatory contralateral response, the colocated ipsilateral response appeared dominated by inhibition, suggesting that ipsilateral inputs may have modulatory effects on contralateral input processing. Our findings confirm bimanual convergence at the earliest stage of cortical somatosensory processing in primates. They also illustrate the value of combined CSD and fMRI analyses in monkeys for defining hidden aspects of sensory function and for investigating the neuronal processes generating fMRI signals.