Mapping the Deaf Auditory Cortex

绘制聋人听觉皮层图

• 批准号: 6853827
• 负责人: JOHN W BELLIVEAU
• 金额: $ 8.75万
• 依托单位: MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-04-01 至 2007-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6853827
• 关键词: auditory cortex; brain electrical activity; brain mapping; clinical research; deafness; electroencephalography; functional magnetic resonance imaging; human subject; magnetoencephalography; neural plasticity; neuronal transport; thalamic nuclei; thalamocortical tract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Traditionally, the sensory areas of the brain were believed to be exclusively devoted for processing of sensory information from one set of sensory organs, i.e., uni-modal. Increasing evidence from both animal and human studies now suggest that even the very primary sensory cortices have the capacity to process information from the other modalities. Greater understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying cross-modal plasticity is crucial for the rehabilitation of sensory deprived humans and development of neural prostheses. Recent imaging studies on congenitally deaf adults have shown that the deaf "auditory" cortex can process both visual and tactile information. However, the functional organization of the deaf "auditory" cortex is not known, as spatiotemporal processing of both visual and tactile information has not been investigated in the same subjects. Furthermore, the mere fact that the auditory cortices of the congenitally deaf can be activated by stimuli of different sensory modalities tells us very little about the level of the auditory pathway where these plastic changes take place. The measured cortical activations could reflect reorganization of the thalamic nuclei, and/or plasticity in thalamo-cortical as well as in cortico-cortical connections. In Specific Aim 1 the investigators will delineate structural plasticity both at the cortical and sub-cortical level. They will use anatomical and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging in a cohort of congenitally deaf and age-matched hearing subjects to reveal putative thalamic and axonal connectivity differences. In Specific Aim 2 the investigators will combine functional magnetic resonance imaging with electromagnetic recordings to reveal the possible spatiotemporal differences in the activation of the deaf "auditory" cortex during visual and vibratory tactile stimulation. This will allow the investigators to distinguish whether overlapping or separate neuronal networks support the cross-modal plasticity of the deaf 'auditory' cortex.

描述（由申请人提供）：传统上，据信大脑的感觉区域专门用于从一组感官器官（即uni-modal）中处理感官信息。 现在，来自动物和人类研究的越来越多的证据表明，即使是非常主要的感觉皮层也具有从其他方式处理信息的能力。 对跨模型可塑性潜在的神经机制的更多了解对于恢复感觉剥夺人类和神经假体的发展至关重要。 关于先天聋人成年人的最新成像研究表明，聋哑的“听觉”皮层可以处理视觉和触觉信息。 但是，聋哑“听觉”皮层的功能组织尚不清楚，因为在同一主题中尚未研究视觉和触觉信息的时空处理。 此外，单纯的事实是，先天性聋哑的听觉皮层可以通过不同感官方式的刺激激活，这几乎没有告诉我们这些塑料变化发生的听觉途径的水平。 测得的皮质激活可以反映丘脑核的重组，以及/或丘脑皮质和皮质皮质连接中的可塑性。 在特定的目标1中，研究人员将在皮质和亚皮质水平上描述结构可塑性。 他们将在先天聋和年龄匹配的听力受试者的队列中使用解剖和扩散张量磁共振成像，以揭示假定的丘脑和轴突连通性差异。 在特定的目标2中，研究人员将将功能磁共振成像与电磁记录相结合，以揭示在视觉和振动触觉刺激期间聋人“听觉”皮层激活中可能存在的时空差异。 这将使研究人员能够区分重叠还是单独的神经元网络支持聋人“听觉”皮层的跨模式可塑性。