RII Track-2 FEC: Neural Basis of Attention

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Non-Technical DescriptionThis Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaboration (RII Track-2 FEC) proposal is a collaboration between four institutions in New Hampshire, Montana, Nevada, and Rhode Island, namely Dartmouth College, Montana State University, the University of Nevada Reno, and Brown University. The project will develop a greater understanding of attention, which is important to society in multiple ways, including the promotion of worker productivity, driver safety, and vigilance of military and security personnel. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop a unified model of attention that applies across multiple domains, from single cells to large brain circuits. The project will assemble the world?s largest consortium of scientists focused on creating a unified understanding of attention, including seven neurophysiologists, five cognitive neuroscientists, one modeler, and one neurologist. Other goals of the project are to develop lasting collaborations and promote future grant proposals, build research and industrial pipelines for neuroscience trainees, foster the professional development of junior faculty, and extend educational opportunities to traditionally disadvantaged groups, including Native Americans and low socio-economic status students.Technical DescriptionThe project will investigate the neural basis of attention at micro- and macroscopic scales, using a diverse array of brain imaging methods, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and electrocardiography (EcoG), in humans and monkeys. The research will be divided into four themes: 1) Neurophysiological effects of attention on multi-unit patterns and rates of neural firing, 2) The relationship of attention to working memory, 3) Large-scale cortical dynamics of attention, and 4) Tying data together via micro- and macro-circuit models of attention. Three female junior faculty participants will lead a yearly conference for female and under-represented minority (URM) graduate students, post-docs and junior faculty to foster mentoring and career development. The project will also include outreach to middle and high schools, including the development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) targeting K-12 science teachers.