Information & Hierarchical Organization in the Neural Systems for Working Memory

信息

• 批准号: 8307993
• 负责人: SUSAN M COURTNEY-FARUQEE
• 金额: $ 44.86万
• 依托单位: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-07 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8307993
• 关键词: Address; Anterior; Area; Behavior; Behavioral; Brain; Brain region; Code; Cognition; Cognitive; Color; Dependence; Dependency; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Goals; Health; Impaired cognition; Impairment; Individual; Lateral; Lead; Link; Location; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Maintenance; Measures; Medial; Memory; Mental disorders; Mission; Modeling; Multiple Sclerosis; Parietal; Parietal Lobe; Pattern; Performance; Population; Prefrontal Cortex; Prevention; Process; Research; Rewards; Role; Sensory; Short-Term Memory; Signal Transduction; Stimulus; System; Temporal Lobe; Testing; Time; Update; base; cognitive function; cognitive system; executive function; healthy volunteer; information processing; nervous system disorder; neural patterning; neuromechanism; programs; relating to nervous system; research study; response; theories; white matter; white matter damage; young adult

Our long-term objective is to understand the neural mechanisms that enable currently relevant information to optimally influence cognition and behavior. As the next step in achieving this objective, the goal of this proposed project is to test the hypothesis that the neural system for working memory (WM) is information-domain-dependent and hierarchically organized. We propose that items, such as objects, words, and locations, are represented at the lower levels of this hierarchy while information about relationships among these objects and with potential responses and rewards is represented at higher levels of this hierarchy in more anterior regions of the prefrontal cortex using similar neural mechanisms for both types of information. We will test this hypothesis using functional and anatomical magnetic resonance imaging in healthy young adults, and individuals with multiple sclerosis. We will measure the effects of memory load, repetition, and updating on the fMRI activation magnitude and pattern, directly comparing these effects for item vs. relational information. fMRI functional connectivity during WM for items will be contrasted to functional connectivity during WM for relations to ascertain whether interactions among prefrontal areas and between prefrontal areas and sensory areas are different for these different information types. The necessity of these interactions will be tested by using DTI tractography in individuals with multiple sclerosis to test whether WM performance for items depends on the integrity of different white matter tracts than does WM for relational information. The study aims to test whether a conceptual link can be identified between working memory maintenance of items, such as objects, locations, and words, which has been extensively studied, and "executive control" functions, which are much less well understood. This goal is highly relevant to the mission of the agency because these higher cognitive functions are disrupted in many mental disorders and neurological diseases. Without a clear understanding of the neural systems that make these abilities possible, we have little to offer for treatment or prevention of cognitive dysfunction.

我们的长期目标是了解当前启用的神经机制 相关信息以最佳影响认知和行为。作为下一步 实现这一目标，这个拟议项目的目标是检验以下假设。 工作记忆的神经系统（WM）是信息域依赖性的，并且 层次组织。我们建议的项目，例如对象，单词和位置， 在此层次结构的较低层面时表示有关关系的信息 在这些物体中，有潜在的响应和奖励在较高 使用类似的前额叶皮层的更前区域的该层次结构的水平 两种信息的神经机制。我们将使用 健康的年轻人的功能和解剖磁共振成像，以及 患有多发性硬化症的个体。我们将测量内存负载的影响， 重复和更新fMRI激活幅度和模式，直接 比较这些项目与关系信息。 fMRI功能连接 在WM期间，项目将与WM期间的功能连通性形成鲜明对比 确定前额叶区域之间以及前额叶区域之间的相互作用 对于这些不同的信息类型，感官区域不同。必要 这些相互作用将通过在具有多个的个体中使用DTI拖拉机来测试 硬化症以测试项目的WM性能是否取决于不同的完整性 白质区比WM用于关系信息。该研究旨在测试 是否可以在工作记忆维护之间确定概念链接 已广泛研究的物品，位置和单词等项目，以及 “执行控制”功能，这些功能知之甚少。这个目标很高 与该机构的使命相关，因为这些较高的认知功能是 在许多精神疾病和神经系统疾病中受到破坏。没有清晰 了解使这些能力成为可能的神经系统，我们几乎没有 提供治疗或预防认知功能障碍。