Neural Basis of Spatial Cognition

空间认知的神经基础

• 批准号: 7262479
• 负责人: JEFFREY Steven TAUBE
• 金额: $ 35.06万
• 依托单位: DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1992
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1992-09-15 至 2009-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7262479
• 关键词: Alzheimer' s Disease; Animal Behavior; Animals; Anterior; Biological Models; Brain; Cell Nucleus; Cells; Cognition; Cognitive; Complex; Disease; Disorientation; Environment; Head; Health behavior; Hippocampal Formation; Human; Learning; Limbic System; Location; Nature; Neuraxis; Neurons; Organism; Pathology; Pathway interactions; Patients; Population; Process; Rattus; Research; Role; Sensory; Series; Signal Transduction; Spatial Behavior; Structure; Sum; Supervision; System; Thalamic structure; Visual; base; design; experience; insight; older patient; relating to nervous system; research study; spatial relationship

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Research Plan describes a series of experiments that will examine how spatial information is processed in the mammalian brain. In previous studies a population of neurons was identified within the mammillary nuclei --> anterior thalamus --> hippocampal formation axis that discharge as a function of the animal's head direction (HD), independent of the animal's behavior and spatial location. This spatial signal provides a model system for examining how primary sensory information, entering through various sensory pathways, is transformed into a "higher level cognitive signal" representing the organism's spatial relationship with its environment. The mechanisms that accomplish this transformation in the central nervous system are not known. The first aim contains 5 experiments and is designed to determine how the head direction signal is derived and processed from known sensory inputs. The question being asked is: how is primary sensory information, entering over various sensory pathways, transformed into a signal which represents the animal's directional orientation with respect to its environment? The second aim will better define the underlying anatomical connections within the HD cell system. The third aim will determine how visual landmark spatial information is processed in the brain. The fourth aim seeks to understand the functional significance of the HD signals to the organism; that is, how does an animal use these cells for orientation and navigation? In sum, these studies will provide insight into how spatial information is organized and processed in the brain and will enhance our understanding of the functional role of HD cells during navigation. The results will have implications for human health and behavior. It is common for elderly patients and patients with Alzheimers disease, a disease often associated with marked pathology in limbic system structures, to experience spatial disorientation to the extent that constant supervision is required. Learning how spatial information is processed in the rat brain will give us clues about the complex nature of spatial processes in humans.

描述（由申请人提供）：研究计划描述了一系列实验，这些实验将研究如何在哺乳动物大脑中处理空间信息。在先前的研究中，在乳腺核 - >前丘脑前 - >海马形成轴内鉴定了神经元的群体，该轴是动物头方向（HD）的函数，与动物的行为和空间位置无关。该空间信号提供了一个模型系统，用于研究如何通过各种感觉途径进入的主要感觉信息转变为代表生物体与环境的空间关系的“更高级别的认知信号”。在中枢神经系统中完成这种转变的机制尚不清楚。第一个目标包含5个实验，旨在确定如何从已知的感觉输入得出和处理头部方向信号。要问的问题是：如何通过各种感觉途径进入的主要感觉信息转变为代表动物方向方向相对于环境的信号？第二个目标将更好地定义HD细胞系统内的基本解剖连接。第三个目标将决定如何在大脑中处理视觉地标空间信息。第四个目标试图了解HD信号对生物体的功能意义。也就是说，动物如何使用这些细胞进行定向和导航？总而言之，这些研究将提供有关如何在大脑中组织和处理空间信息的洞察力，并增强我们对导航过程中HD细胞功能作用的理解。结果将对人类健康和行为产生影响。对于老年患者和阿尔茨海默氏病患者而言，这是一种常见的疾病，这种疾病通常与边缘系统结构中的病理显着相关，以在需要持续的监督的范围内经历空间迷失方向。了解在大鼠大脑中如何处理空间信息将为我们提供有关人类空间过程复杂性质的线索。