Exploring the Neural Dynamics of Cognition through Human Electrocorticography

通过人体皮层电图探索认知的神经动力学

• 批准号: 0642848
• 负责人: Rajesh Rao
• 金额: $ 61.37万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-04-15 至 2010-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0642848&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Exploring; Neural; Dynamics; Cognition; through

To unravel the neural mechanisms governing cognition, one must understand how different brain areas interact with one another on time scales that range from tens to several hundreds of milliseconds. Temporal resolution in the range of milliseconds is hard to achieve through imaging techniques such as fMRI. On the other hand, electrophysiological techniques used in primates provide high temporal resolution but only record from a single or at most a few tens of neurons at a time. An alternative recording technique that overcomes many of these problems is electrocorticography (ECoG) where an array of electrodes, implanted for assessment of the brain before surgery, is used to record electrical fluctuations from the surface of the human. ECoG allows electrical signals from several different brain areas to be measured simultaneously while at the same time providing temporal resolution in the millisecond range. It is thus uniquely suited for probing the neural dynamics of cognition. With NSF support, Drs. Rajesh Rao and Jeff Ojemann of the University of Washington will examine cortical dynamics using three tasks that represent three different levels of abstraction in cognition: a motor movement task, a working memory task, and a language task. It will analyze the data using conventional spectral techniques as well as more sophisticated statistical techniques such as Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for source separation and Bayesian techniques for signal estimation. From this, they will construct biophysical models of networks of neurons and simulating cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic feedback loops to understand the neural genesis of ECoG. If successful, this research will allow a new understanding of brain function, leading in the long term to possible remedies for cognitive deficits involving motor control, memory, or language processing.

为了揭示有关认知认知的神经机制，必须了解不同的大脑区域如何按时间尺度相互作用，范围从数十到数百毫秒。通过诸如fMRI之类的成像技术，很难实现毫秒范围的时间分辨率。另一方面，灵长类动物中使用的电生理技术可提供高的时间分辨率，但仅一次或最多一次来自几十个神经元记录。一种克服了许多问题的替代记录技术是电视摄影（ECOG），其中一系列植入手术前评估大脑的电极用于记录人类表面的电波动。 ECOG允许同时测量来自几个不同大脑区域的电信号，同时在毫秒范围内提供时间分辨率。因此，它非常适合探测认知的神经动态。在NSF支持的情况下，Drs。华盛顿大学的Rajesh Rao和Jeff Ojemann将使用三个任务来检查皮质动力学，这些任务代表认知中三个不同级别的抽象：运动运动任务，工作记忆任务和语言任务。 它将使用常规光谱技术以及更复杂的统计技术（例如独立组件分析（ICA））分析数据，以进行源分离和贝叶斯技术以进行信号估计。 由此，他们将构建神经元网络网络的生物物理模型，并模拟皮质皮质和皮质 - 丘脑反馈回路，以了解ECOG的神经起源。 如果成功，这项研究将允许对大脑功能有了新的了解，从长远来看，可能会导致涉及运动控制，记忆或语言处理的认知缺陷。