Collaborative Research: Using Somatosensory Speech And Non-Speech Categories To Test The Brain's General Principles Of Perceptual Learning

合作研究：利用体感言语和非言语类别来测试大脑感知学习的一般原理

• 批准号: 1439339
• 负责人: Lynne Bernstein
• 金额: $ 27.16万
• 依托单位: George Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-15 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1439339&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Using; Somatosensory; Speech

The human brain displays astonishing adaptation to novel types of sensory information. An example of such adaptation is deaf-blind individuals who learned to perceive spoken language through their sense of touch, by placing a hand on the face and throat of someone producing speech. This example tells us that the somatosensory system can carry out speech perception, which is normally thought to be in the domain of hearing. Drs. Maximilian Riesenhuber of Georgetown University and Lynne E. Bernstein of George Washington University along with their multidisciplinary team will use advanced functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the learning of artificial categories and speech categories by the somatosensory system. In their research they are using a novel transducer to present high-dimensional stimuli to the forearm of participants who are trained on artificial or speech categories. The team is addressing whether perceptual learning of artificial categories of somatosensory patterns follows principles known to govern auditory and visual category learning. For their second aim, the researchers are training participants to recognize spoken words that are transformed into patterns of vibration. The speech stimuli are designed to address questions about cross-sensory learning and the linking of speech categories across hearing and vision. Before and following training, fMRI and EEG measures are being applied to determine where and when in the brain newly learned categories are represented. This project is pushing the frontiers of knowledge about the brain's plasticity for learning novel somatosensory categories, including showing for the first time the neural bases for speech learning through the sense of touch.Understanding the general principles of sensory processing in the brain, and in particular the commonalities and differences in the underlying neural mechanisms across sensory modalities, is of great interest for practical applications such as the design of neuroprostheses for hearing and/or vision disorders. For example, patients who have auditory or visual sensory system damage may benefit from devices that substitute vibrotactile stimuli for information no longer available through their damaged sensory systems. Vibrotactile stimuli can be combined with visual or auditory stimuli to improve speech perception in noisy situations such as the cockpit of a plane. The fMRI and EEG data from this project along with detailed records kept during training of participants will be made available to the research community. The brain measures obtained before and after training will be valuable for cost-effective testing of new hypotheses about brain plasticity and learning. Research results will be broadly disseminated through publications and conference presentations. The research project will also be leveraged extensively to train the next generation of scientists, at the graduate and undergraduate level, with a particular focus on underrepresented minorities.

人脑显示出对新型感觉信息的惊人适应。这种适应性的一个例子是聋哑人，他们通过将手放在某人的脸部和喉咙上，学会通过触摸感来感知口语。这个示例告诉我们，体感系统可以执行语音感知，通常认为这是在听证的领域。博士。乔治敦大学的Maximilian Riesenhuber和乔治华盛顿大学的Lynne E. Bernstein及其多学科团队将使用先进的功能性磁共振脑成像（fMRI）和脑电图（EEG）（EEG）来研究通过体征系统的人造类别和语音类别的神经机制。在他们的研究中，他们使用一种新颖的传感器向接受人工或语音类别培训的参与者的前臂提出了高维刺激。该团队正在解决体感模式的人造类别的感知学习是否遵循已知的原则来控制听觉和视觉类别学习。为了他们的第二个目标，研究人员是培训参与者，以识别被转化为振动模式的口语。语音刺激旨在解决有关跨感官学习以及跨听力和视觉的语音类别的联系的问题。在培训之前和之后，正在采用fMRI和EEG措施来确定大脑新学习类别的何时何地。该项目正在推动有关大脑可塑性学习新颖的体验类别的知识的领域，包括首次展示通过触摸感的语音学习的神经基础。理解大脑中感官的一般原理，尤其是在感官跨性别的范围内的常见和差异，例如，跨感官的差异，例如，跨感官的差异，例如，跨越的神经机制，例如，或者是跨越的效果，例如，或者是跨越的效果。疾病。例如，具有听觉或视觉感觉系统损害的患者可能会受益于替代纤维状刺激的设备，以获取不再通过损坏的感觉系统获得的信息。纤维状刺激可以与视觉或听觉刺激结合使用，以改善诸如平面驾驶舱之类的嘈杂情况下的语音感知。该项目的fMRI和EEG数据以及参与者培训期间保留的详细记录将提供给研究社区。在训练之前和之后获得的大脑措施对于对大脑可塑性和学习的新假设进行成本效益的测试将是有价值的。研究结果将通过出版物和会议演讲大致传播。该研究项目还将被广泛利用，以培训毕业生和本科层面的下一代科学家，特别关注代表性不足的少数民族。