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

本项目重点研究基底节和新皮质低频节律的功能含义。合作工作涉及四个小组：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)。该项目是由波士顿大学、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的新成立的认知节律合作组织(CRC)的首次合作研究成果。促进研究和培训的CRC的目标是绘制大脑动力学的时空结构图，并将这些动力学与大脑功能联系起来。这是第一个试图从基础电生理学理解越来越多的文献表明，低频脑节奏对注意力和学习都至关重要，以及大脑结构之间的相互作用，如基底节和新皮质之间的相互作用是这些功能的中心的项目。该项目利用了Graybiel实验室和Moore实验室的电生理学技能，前者专注于基底节的动力学，后者专注于新皮质，以了解学习和注意力过程中皮质和基底节之间的信息流。博伊登小组开发的新分子生物学技术丰富了这种合作。这项技术中的细胞可以被光激活和失活，它提供了强大的新技术，通过观察扰动的影响来研究电路，即使是在行为正常的动物中也是如此。实验工作以Kopell和Moore实验室的建模思想为指导，实验室几乎可以立即测试建模的输出，以便快速反馈和更改。这个CRC项目体现了一种新的、变革性的科学研究方式，跨越了学科和研究所的界限，促进了跨学科努力前沿的尖端研究。

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.