Electrophysiological and Computational studies on action monitoring

动作监测的电生理学和计算研究

• 批准号: 1125788
• 负责人: Michael Frank
• 金额: $ 64.37万
• 依托单位: Brown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1125788&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Electrophysiological; Computational; studies; action; monitoring

How humans regulate their behaviors is a fundamental question. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Michael Frank of Brown University is investigating interactions between different brain regions involved in how people monitor, learn, and control their actions. This research project focuses on how humans accomplish restrained control over behavior when confronted with difficult decisions. Theoretical models and empirical results suggest that the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia interact during these motivated behaviors, and that the neurochemical dopamine plays a central role in both the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia brain regions. Using electroencephalography (EEG), the investigators are measuring participants' brain waves associated with prefrontal cortex activity, while they perform computerized cognitive tasks that assess learning and decision making in difficult circumstances. The brain wave activity is expected to predict participants' cognitive performance on these tasks. Critically, this brain-behavior relationship is predicted to differ as a function of genetic variants in dopamine function in both the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. In another experiment, researchers are directly manipulating dopamine pharmacologically in order to determine how these brain and behavior relationships are causally altered by dopamine levels. In all of their studies, the investigators use detailed mathematical models guided by contemporary theory to isolate specific brain-behavior relationships. It is theorized that both genetic variants and pharmacological manipulations affect the way that the brain monitors, learns, and controls actions. The brain wave measures are allowing the research team to define how neurochemicals modulate the processes of large neural systems.This research has the goal to substantially advance our understanding of how humans are able to regulate their behaviors as a function of motivation and cognitive control. Scientists widely appreciate that there are large individual differences in these types of motivated behaviors, but only recently have they begun to understand some of the factors governing these differences. By combining multiple research approaches, this project is posed to reveal the ways in which genetic and neurochemical factors alter activity in brain areas that are critically involved in such behaviors. The project also has the potential to identify mechanisms that disrupt brain circuitry and lead to disorders in motivated behavior and cognitive control, including addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder among others.

人类如何调节自己的行为是一个基本问题。在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，布朗大学的迈克尔·弗兰克博士正在研究不同大脑区域之间的相互作用，这些区域涉及人们如何监测、学习和控制他们的行为。这个研究项目的重点是人类如何在面对困难的决定时实现对行为的克制控制。理论模型和实验结果表明，前额叶皮层和基底神经节在这些动机行为的相互作用，神经化学物质多巴胺在前额叶皮层和基底神经节脑区发挥着核心作用。使用脑电图（EEG），研究人员正在测量参与者与前额叶皮层活动相关的脑电波，同时他们执行计算机化的认知任务，评估在困难情况下的学习和决策。 脑波活动预计将预测参与者在这些任务上的认知表现。至关重要的是，这种大脑行为关系被预测为不同的功能，在前额叶皮层和基底神经节的多巴胺功能的遗传变异。在另一项实验中，研究人员直接操纵多巴胺水平，以确定这些大脑和行为关系是如何被多巴胺水平改变的。在他们所有的研究中，研究人员使用当代理论指导下的详细数学模型来分离特定的大脑-行为关系。理论上，遗传变异和药理学操作都会影响大脑监测、学习和控制行为的方式。 脑电波测量使研究小组能够确定神经化学物质如何调节大型神经系统的过程。这项研究的目标是大大推进我们对人类如何能够调节其行为作为动机和认知控制功能的理解。科学家们普遍认为，这些类型的动机行为存在很大的个体差异，但直到最近，他们才开始了解这些差异的一些因素。通过结合多种研究方法，该项目旨在揭示遗传和神经化学因素改变与此类行为密切相关的大脑区域活动的方式。该项目还有可能确定破坏大脑回路并导致动机行为和认知控制障碍的机制，包括成瘾和强迫症等。