Investigations of the somatosensory system with magnetoencephalography

This chapter reviews the historical contribution of magnetoencephalography (MEG) to the understanding of the functioning of the somatosensory system and how some achievements have been transferred to clinical research or routine to be integrated in clinical guidelines. Considering the vast literature and the existence of comprehensive MEG review papers on the topic, the chapter focuses on pioneering or specific studies in a historical framework. Thanks to its noninvasiveness and excellent temporal and good spatial resolutions, MEG has substantially contributed in the past 50 years to the characterization of the spatial, temporal, and spectral dynamics of somatosensory system activity. It has brought a tremendous amount of novel insights into the neural mechanisms at the basis of body perception. The methods developed for this purpose appeared useful in clinical routine and also in clinical research to investigate the pathophysiology of various brain disorders.