SGER: Collaborative Research: Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative, A Discovery Network

本项目主要研究低频节律在基底神经节和新皮层中的功能意义。这项合作涉及四个小组：科佩尔（波士顿大学）、摩尔（麻省理工学院）、格雷比尔（麻省理工学院）和博伊登（麻省理工学院）。该项目是新成立的认知节律协作组织（CRC）的第一个合作研究项目，该组织由来自波士顿大学、麻省理工学院、麻省总医院马蒂诺斯生物医学成像中心、布兰迪斯大学和塔夫茨大学的波士顿地区教职员工组成。CRC的目的是促进研究和培训，绘制脑动力学的时空结构，并将这些动态与脑功能联系起来。这是第一个试图从基础电生理学理解的项目，越来越多的文献表明，低频大脑节律对注意力和学习都至关重要，大脑结构（如基底神经节和新皮层）之间的相互作用是这些功能的核心。该项目利用了Graybiel实验室的电生理学技能，该实验室专注于基底节区的动态，而Moore实验室则专注于新皮层，以了解在学习和注意力过程中皮层和基底节区之间的信息流动。博伊登集团开发的新分子生物学技术丰富了这种合作。这项技术可以通过光激活和灭活细胞，它提供了强大的新技术，可以通过观察扰动的影响来找出电路，甚至在行为正常的动物身上也是如此。实验工作以Kopell和Moore实验室的建模思想为指导，并且建模的输出几乎可以立即由实验室进行测试，以便快速反馈和更改。该中心项目体现了一种新的、具有变革意义的科学研究方式，跨越了学科和研究所的界限，促进了跨学科努力的前沿研究。

This project focuses on the functional implications of low-frequency rhythms in the basal ganglia and neocortex. The collaborative effort involves four groups: Kopell, (Boston University), Moore (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Graybiel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Boyden (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The project is the first collaborative research effort of the newly formed Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative (CRC), a group of Boston Area faculty members from Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Brandeis University and Tufts University. The aims of the CRC, which fosters research and training, are to map the spatio-temporal structure of brain dynamics and connect these dynamics to brain function. This is the first project to try to understand from basic electrophysiology the growing literature suggesting that the low frequency brain rhythms are critical for both attention and learning, and that interactions among brain structures such as the basal ganglia and neocortex are central for such functions. The project makes use of the electrophysiology skills of the Graybiel lab, which is focused on the dynamics of the basal ganglia, and those of the Moore lab, focused on the neocortex, to understand the flow of information between the cortex and the basal ganglia during learning and attention. This collaboration is enriched by new molecular biology technology developed by the Boyden group. This technology, in which cells can be activated and inactivated by light, provides powerful new techniques for figuring out circuits by looking at effects of perturbations, even in behaving animals. The experimental work is guided by modeling ideas from the Kopell and Moore labs, and the output of the modeling can be tested almost immediately by the labs for quick feedback and changes. This CRC project exemplifies a new and transformational way of doing science, bridging the boundaries of disciplines and institutes to facilitate cutting edge research at the forefront of interdisciplinary endeavors.