Linking spatially distributed neuronal activation overlap to the limits of perceptual discrimination in rodent primary somatosensory cortex

Abstract

Introduction Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of the primary somatosensory cortex can evoke localized tactile percepts, yet the spatial factors that influence perceptual discrimination remain poorly defined. In prior work, we showed that discrimination accuracy between behaviorally evaluated ICMS-evoked percepts declines as stimulation sites converge across cortical depths and adjacent cortical columns. Those results suggest that overlap in neuronal recruitment may constrain perceptual differentiation. Methods Here, we combine simulated data from a biophysically realistic computational model of the somatosensory cortex with previously collected behavioral data from rats to quantify how overlap in ICMS-evoked activation volume relates to discrimination performance. Within the model, ICMS patterns investigated behaviorally were simulated, and activation volumes were estimated by fitting a range of 50–100% capture ellipsoids to the spatial distribution of activated somata. Overlap in activation volumes between pairs of ICMS patterns was then quantified using the intersection-over-union (IoU) metric. Results Across both single- and four-shank microelectrode array configurations, we found that discrimination accuracy decreased in an exponential decay-like relationship (R2 = 0.88) as model-derived activation volume overlap increased. Independent of depth vs. lateral separation between ICMS pattern pairs, minimal overlap (IoU < 1%) was associated with high discrimination accuracy (>70%; average of 85%), whereas IoU values exceeding 20% corresponded to near-chance performance. Discussion These results suggest that ICMS-evoked activation volume overlap between stimulation sites may provide mechanistic insight into the spatial limits of perceptual discrimination in ICMS applications. More broadly, these findings may help guide future investigations aimed at determining appropriate electrode spacing and stimulation strategies for sensory neuroprosthetic design.