Perceptual and Attentional Topography of Human Posterior Parietal Cortex

人类后顶叶皮层的知觉和注意地形

• 批准号: 0726061
• 负责人: David Somers
• 金额: $ 57万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-01 至 2011-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0726061&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Perceptual; Attentional; Topography; Human; Posterior

How do we remember where things are? How do we pay attention to some objects while ignoring distractions? One part of the brain that supports the processing of these and other important functions is the posterior parietal cortex. It is involved in spatial representation, attentional control, planning of eye and hand movements, number sense, and working memory. Despite the importance and diversity of the cognitive functions attributed to this region of the brain, its functional organization is not well understood. Prior studies in non-human primates suggest that this area is comprised of many small cortical areas, each with different functional roles. The goals of this project are: 1) to identify distinct functional subregions of this portion of the human cerebral cortex; 2) reveal the spatial representations that these regions use encode information; 3) reveal the different functional roles that these subregions play in visual attention and visual working memory. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. David Somers and colleagues at Boston University will address these questions by seeing the brain at work with functional magnetic resonance imaging. As many as fourteen distinct brain regions, each with a complete map of visual space, can now be identified in individual subjects. Activity within each of these distinct areas will be measured while human volunteers attempt to pay attention to and remember visual stimuli in different situations.This work will reveal a more comprehensive picture of the functional organization of human posterior parietal cortex and of the brain mechanisms that support visual perception, visual attention, and visual working memory. This research also could identify new distinct regions of the cerebral cortex. These investigations have broad implications for the study of neurological diseases and disorders that involve posterior parietal cortex, including Alzheimer's Disease, Williams Syndrome, and a variety of attentional disorders. This research also offers cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging research training opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students, including those from underrepresented groups.

我们如何记住东西在哪里？ 我们怎样才能集中注意力，同时忽略干扰呢？支持处理这些和其他重要功能的大脑部分是后顶叶皮层。 它涉及空间表征、注意力控制、眼睛和手部运动的规划、数字感觉和工作记忆。 尽管大脑这一区域的认知功能具有重要性和多样性，但其功能组织尚不清楚。 先前对非人类灵长类动物的研究表明，该区域由许多小的皮质区域组成，每个区域都有不同的功能作用。该项目的目标是：1）确定人类大脑皮层这部分的不同功能分区； 2）揭示这些区域使用编码信息的空间表示； 3）揭示这些子区域在视觉注意力和视觉工作记忆中发挥的不同功能作用。 在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，波士顿大学的戴维·萨默斯博士及其同事将通过功能性磁共振成像观察大脑的工作情况来解决这些问题。 现在可以在个体受试者中识别出多达十四个不同的大脑区域，每个区域都有完整的视觉空间图。 当人类志愿者尝试注意和记住不同情况下的视觉刺激时，将测量每个不同区域内的活动。这项工作将更全面地揭示人类后顶叶皮层的功能组织以及支持视觉感知、视觉注意力和视觉工作记忆的大脑机制。这项研究还可以识别大脑皮层的新的独特区域。 这些研究对于涉及后顶叶皮质的神经系统疾病和紊乱的研究具有广泛的意义，包括阿尔茨海默病、威廉姆斯综合症和各种注意力障碍。这项研究还为本科生和研究生（包括来自代表性不足群体的学生）提供认知神经科学和脑成像研究培训机会。