Spike timing codes for motor control

用于电机控制的尖峰时序代码

基本信息

批准号：
10112963
负责人：
Samuel Sober
金额：
$ 33.77万
依托单位：
EMORY UNIVERSITY
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2017
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2017-03-01 至 2023-02-28
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112963
关键词：
Acoustics Affect Age Algorithms Behavior Behavior Control Behavioral Biomechanics Brain Code Complex Computational Technique Computer Analysis Development Disease Electrodes Future Goals In Vitro Individual Injury Measurable Methods Motor Motor Cortex Motor Neurons Motor output Muscle Muscle Fibers Nervous System Trauma Nervous system structure Neurons Neurosciences Organ Outcome Study Output Patients Pattern Physiological Preparation Production Property Prosthesis Research Sensory Signal Transduction Songbirds System Techniques Testing Training Variant Work base behavior in vitro behavior influence experimental study improved in vivo innovation kinematics microstimulation millisecond mind control motor control nervous system disorder neural patterning neural prosthesis neuromuscular neurophysiology novel response sensory feedback sound vocal control vocalization

项目摘要

A central goal of neuroscience is to understand how patterns of neural activity in the brain control behavior. In principle, neurons can encode information via their firing rates, the precise timing of their spikes, or both. However, nearly all prior studies of motor systems have relied exclusively on spike rates to investigate how the brain controls behavior. We recently demonstrated that in songbird vocal motor cortex, spike timing – down to millisecond-scale differences in spike patterning – is far more informative about upcoming behavior than is spike rate. Although this suggests that variations in cortical spike timing could modulate behavior, it is unknown whether precise cortical spike timing drives a similarly precise code downstream in motor neurons and muscle tissue, or indeed whether variations in motor neuron spike timing are capable of modifying behavior. The proposed experiments will combine innovative behavioral, physiological, and computational techniques to understand how the nervous system uses precisely timed patterns of electrical activity to regulate the acoustics of vocal output in songbirds. Our long-term goal is to understand how spiking activity in the brain controls behavior. The objective of this proposal is to determine which properties of motor spiking drive variations in behavior in control of vocalizations in songbirds. Our central hypothesis is that the brain controls behavior by precisely (down to a precision of a few milliseconds) modulating spike timing. This hypothesis will be tested in three specific Aims. In Aim 1, we will use a newly developed electrode system to study spiking activity from muscle tissue (i.e., the spikes of individual motor units, each of which consists muscle fibers innervated by a single motor neuron) in vocalizing songbirds to determine the timescale of neuromuscular control. In Aim 2, we will use innovative in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo techniques to determine whether spike-timing differences observed in muscle fibers affect motor output. In Aim 3, we will examine how precise firing patterns are coordinated across multiple muscles. All three Aims will tightly integrate experimental studies and computational analyses to identify specific spike timing patterns that most strongly influence behavior and to generate and test hypotheses about the biomechanical bases of precise motor control. The rationale for these studies is that they will upend long-held notions that cortical motor control is based solely on spike rate codes and establish a broadly applicable framework for analyzing timing-based spike codes both within and beyond the motor system. Furthermore, our findings and techniques may significantly contribute to the improvement of neural prosthetic devices by showing how decoding algorithms might make use of spike timing in addition to the rate information commonly used in current approaches.

神经科学的一个核心目标是了解脑控制行为中神经科学模式如何。在原理，神经元可以通过发射速率，尖峰的确切时机或两者兼而有之编码信息。但是，几乎所有先前对运动系统的研究都完全依赖于尖峰速率，以研究如何研究大脑控制行为。我们最近证明了在鸣鸟声乐皮层中，尖峰时机 - 直到尖峰图案的毫秒级差异 - 对即将到来的行为的信息比Spike更具信息速率。尽管这表明皮质尖峰时序的变化可能会调节行为，但未知精确的皮质尖峰计时是否在运动神经元和肌肉下游的同样精确的代码驱动组织，或实际上是运动神经峰的变化是否能够改变行为。拟议的实验将结合创新的行为，生理和计算技术了解神经系统如何使用精确的电活动定时模式来调节鸣禽声音输出的声学。我们的长期目标是了解大脑中的峰值活动控制行为。该提案的目的是确定运动尖峰驱动变化的哪些特性在控制鸣禽声音的行为中。我们的中心假设是大脑通过精确（降至几毫秒的精度）调节尖峰时序。该假设将在三个具体目标。在AIM 1中，我们将使用新开发的电极系统来研究肌肉组织（即单个运动单位的尖峰，每种电动机的尖峰由由A支配的肌肉纤维组成单运动神经元）在发声的鸣禽中确定神经肌肉对照的时间尺度。在AIM 2中，我们将使用创新的体内，体外和离体技术来确定是否差异差异在肌肉纤维中观察到的会影响运动输出。在AIM 3中，我们将研究射击模式的精确射击方式跨多个肌肉协调。这三个目标将紧密整合实验研究和计算分析以确定最大程度地影响行为并产生和测试的特定尖峰计时模式关于精确运动控制的生物力学基础的假设。这些研究的理由是他们将颠覆长期以来的指标，即皮层运动控制是基于尖峰速率代码的，并建立了广泛的适用的框架，用于分析电机系统内外的基于计时的尖峰代码。此外，我们的发现和技术可能会大大促进神经假体的改善通过显示解码算法如何利用峰值时间除了速率信息之外如何利用尖峰的设备通常用于当前方法。