NEURAL MECHANISMS OF CUTANEOUS SPATIAL INTEGRATION

皮肤空间整合的神经机制

• 批准号: 3394631
• 负责人: ESTHER P. GARDNER
• 金额: $ 2.65万
• 依托单位: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1979
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1979-04-01 至 1990-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3394631
• 关键词: Macaca mulatta; cutaneous sensory nerve; histology; neurophysiology; psychobiology; sensory feedback; sensory thresholds; sequential perception; single cell analysis; somesthetic sensory cortex; space perception; touch

This project is designed to determine the role of the cerebral cortex in the sensory function of the primate hand. Neurophysiological and psychophysical techniques will be used to examine how the somatosensory system integrates spatial information on the skin. A new computer controlled tactile stimulator which delivers spatially complex stimuli to a dense array of 144 miniature probes, developed during the previous project period, will be used to measure single unit responses in both primary and secondary somatosensory areas of the cerebral cortex of awake monkeys. These animals are trained in psychophysical experiments to respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as spatial frequency or direction of motion, permitting properties of single unit discharges to be correlated with the sensations produced by the stimulus in both monkeys and humans. The experiments described in this proposal address four major topics: (A) the coding of motion and its direction across the skin, (B) the coding of spatial frequency of textured surfaces, (C) the spatial organization of receptive fields of cortical neurons receiving inputs from different classes of cutaneous mechanoreceptors, and (D) functional comparison of activity in SI and SII cortices. These studies will provide the first neurophysiological studies of responses evoked by the OPTACON tactile display normally used as a sensory substitution aid for the blind and deaf. We will obtain important neurophysiological data on the tactile information processing capabilities of the cerebral cortex, the functional organization of three different cytoarchitectural areas, and the integration of information between the two hemispheres. The findings may have important clinical applications such as the development of more quantitative tests of sensory function in patients with neurological disorders or peripheral nerve injuries, and the improvement of sensory substitution aids for visually and/or hearing impaired individuals.

该项目旨在确定大脑皮层在 灵长类动物手的感觉功能。 神经生理学和 将使用心理物理学技术来检查体感如何 系统集成了皮肤上的空间信息。 一台新电脑 受控触觉刺激器，可向物体提供空间复杂的刺激 由 144 个微型探针组成的密集阵列，是在上一个项目中开发的 期间，将用于测量初级和中级的单个单位反应 清醒猴子大脑皮层的次级体感区域。 这些动物接受心理物理实验训练以应对 刺激的特定特征，例如空间频率或方向 运动，允许单个单位放电的属性相关 猴子和人类的刺激所产生的感觉。 本提案中描述的实验涉及四个主要主题：(A) 运动的编码及其穿过皮肤的方向，(B) 的编码 纹理表面的空间频率，(C) 的空间组织 皮层神经元的感受野接收来自不同部位的输入 皮肤机械感受器的类别，以及 (D) 功能比较 SI 和 SII 皮质的活动。 这些研究将提供第一个 OPTACON 触觉引起的反应的神经生理学研究 显示器通常用作盲人和盲人的感官替代辅助工具 聋。 我们将获得有关触觉的重要神经生理学数据 大脑皮层的信息处理能力 三个不同细胞结构区域的组织，以及 两个半球之间的信息整合。 研究结果可能 具有重要的临床应用，例如开发更多 神经系统疾病患者感觉功能的定量检测 疾病或周围神经损伤，以及感觉的改善 为视力和/或听力障碍人士提供替代辅助工具。