MRC Transition Support Award CSF Tomoki Arichi

MRC 过渡支持奖 CSF Tomoki Arichi

基本信息

批准号：
MR/V036874/1
负责人：
Tomoki Arichi
金额：
$ 67.19万
依托单位：
King's College London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2021 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FV036874%2F1
关键词：
MRC Transition Support Award CSF

项目摘要

The goal of the research is to understand how injury to the brain during the crucial stages of early life in the womb and around the time of birth can lead to life-long difficulties with brain function. Damage at this time to the specific areas of the brain which control how the body moves in particular, can result in cerebral palsy, leading to life-long difficulties such as limb paralysis or painful uncontrolled movements. There is currently no cure for cerebral palsy, perhaps due to a basic lack of knowledge about how the brain and its activity actually develop the ability to control how the body moves in the earliest stages of life. Importantly, although current medical tests (such as brain scans) can identify brain injuries in babies, they cannot accurately identify which of these babies will develop cerebral palsy later in childhood. This means that treatments cannot be started as soon as an injury is seen and that families are often left with several months of stressful uncertainty.We know that the earliest stages of human life are important for the development of the brain and body systems that control movement as even during the earliest stages of pregnancy, babies can be seen and felt to be moving inside the womb. After birth, they continue to move in a seemingly random way until 6 months of age when they begin to make clearer controlled and purposeful movements. In addition, our research suggests that even at this early stage, the brain can alter how it controls movement through simple learning. This is all important as in this crucial early period of life, the human brain is undergoing more dramatic changes in size, shape, and structure than at any other time, and therefore there must also be enormous changes in how its activity evolves to allow these new patterns of movement.The research therefore plans to use specialist techniques such as robotic devices and highly accurate sensors to precisely measure how babies move (both inside and outside the womb) and then identify and locate the accompanying brain activity using brain scanning. I will study how this changes as a baby grows during their first 6 months, and explore how the relationship is affected by early brain injury. I have also carried out studies to understand how brain activity and movements are altered through learning by gently stimulating the babies. Together, the results of the studies will provide new and important insights about how the brain matures through and then controls movements in the first year. This fundamental knowledge will help doctors and scientists understand how to try and ensure healthy brain development and movements in early life. It will also help them to diagnose, potentially prevent and treat conditions like cerebral palsy which affect the control of movement in children.

该研究的目的是了解在子宫内生命早期的关键阶段和出生前后大脑受到的损伤如何导致终生大脑功能障碍。此时大脑中控制身体运动方式的特定区域受到损害，可能会导致脑瘫，从而导致终生困难，例如肢体瘫痪或疼痛的不受控制的运动。目前还没有治愈脑瘫的方法，可能是因为人们对大脑及其活动如何在生命的最初阶段真正发展出控制身体运动的能力缺乏了解。重要的是，尽管目前的医学测试（例如脑部扫描）可以识别婴儿的脑损伤，但它们无法准确识别哪些婴儿会在童年后期患上脑瘫。这意味着一旦发现受伤，就无法立即开始治疗，而且家人往往会面临几个月的压力和不确定性。我们知道，人类生命的最早阶段对于控制运动的大脑和身体系统的发育非常重要即使在怀孕的最初阶段，也可以看到并感觉到婴儿在子宫内移动。出生后，他们继续以看似随机的方式移动，直到 6 个月大时，他们开始做出更清晰的受控和有目的的动作。此外，我们的研究表明，即使在这个早期阶段，大脑也可以通过简单的学习来改变它控制运动的方式。这一点非常重要，因为在生命的关键早期阶段，人类大脑的大小、形状和结构正在经历比任何其他时期都更加剧烈的变化，因此其活动的进化方式也必须发生巨大的变化，以允许这些变化。新的运动模式。因此，该研究计划使用机器人设备和高精度传感器等专业技术来精确测量婴儿的运动方式（子宫内和子宫外），然后通过大脑扫描来识别和定位伴随的大脑活动。我将研究随着婴儿在前 6 个月的成长，这种关系如何变化，并探讨早期脑损伤如何影响这种关系。我还进行了研究，以了解通过轻轻刺激婴儿的学习如何改变大脑活动和运动。总之，这些研究结果将为大脑如何在第一年成熟并控制运动提供新的重要见解。这些基础知识将帮助医生和科学家了解如何尝试并确保生命早期健康的大脑发育和运动。它还将帮助他们诊断、预防和治疗影响儿童运动控制的脑瘫等疾病。