Functional properties of neurons in the Claustrum and their contribution on the processing of multimodal sensory events

我们的大脑正在处理源源不断的感官事件，这些事件通过不同的方式记录下来，比如视觉或听力。感觉信息首先由特定的感觉区域处理，然后在后来的阶段被整合，形成可用于行为反应的统一感知。这一融合步骤，尽管是假定的，也是预料之中的，但人们对此知之甚少。当前项目的目标是研究这种多模式整合，特别是阐明一种在很大程度上难以捉摸的大脑结构的作用，其独特的解剖连接非常适合这种多模式整合过程：屏状核。屏骨是一种皮质下结构，与感觉、联想和运动区具有广泛的、大部分是相互的解剖连接。为了确定屏蔽区的功能，我们将使用功能成像(FMRI)和电生理学方法，在麻醉和清醒的猴子中分离和组合暴露于视觉、听觉和触觉刺激的行为。利用功能磁共振成像技术，我们将在大范围内研究屏蔽体的功能组织，这将有助于指导后续的电生理实验。对于同样的动物，磁共振可见造影剂将被用于可视化活体中的皮质-幽闭连接，并将其与多模式活动的区域联系起来。最后，我们将在执行行为任务的清醒动物身上研究个别克劳斯特氏神经元在“真实生活条件”下的特性。

Our brains are processing a constant flood of sensory events registered through different modalities, such as vision or audition. Sensory information is first processed by specific sensory areas and is integrated at later stages to form unified percepts that may be used for behavioral reactions. This step of integration, although assumed and expected, is very poorly understood. The goal of the current project is to study such multimodal integration and especially to elucidate the role of one largely elusive brain structure, whose unique anatomical connectivity is ideally suited for this process of multimodal integration: the Claustrum. The Claustrum is a subcortical structure with extensive and mostly reciprocal anatomical connectivity to sensory, association and motor areas. To determine the function of the Claustrum we will use functional imaging (fMRI) and electrophysiology in anaesthetized and awake behaving monkeys exposed to visual, auditory and touch stimuli in isolation and combination. Using fMRI we will study the functional organization of the Claustrum at large scale which will serve to guide subsequent electrophysiological experiments. With the same animals MR-visible contrast agents will be used visualize the cortico-Claustral connectivity in vivo and to relate this to regions of multimodal activity. Last, the properties of individual Claustral neurons under `real life conditions¿ will be investigated in awake animals performing a behavioral task.