Development of multisensory processing in cortico-subcortical networks

皮质-皮质下网络多感官处理的发展

• 批准号: 244989045
• 负责人: Professorin Dr. Ileana L. Hanganu-Opatz
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Entwicklungsneurophysiologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2012-12-31 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/244989045?language=en
• 关键词: Development; multisensory; processing; cortico; subcortical

While sensory processing represents a constant research topic in neuroscience, its investigation has been mainly achieved by considering a single sensory modality at a time. However, real-world perception of the environment relies on the integration of information from multiple senses. Traditionally, this multisensory processing has been exclusively assigned to higher convergence areas in the brain, such as the superior colliculus or prefrontal cortex, where neurons receive inputs from different senses and combine them. This concept has been recently challenged by the identification of cross-modal processing in putatively unisensory neocortical regions. We recently demonstrated the critical role of neural network oscillations and direct connectivity between primary sensory cortices as well as of subcortical feedforward interactions in visual-somatosensory processing. However, the underlying mechanisms of cross-modal processing and the ontogeny of these interactions remain largely unknown. The present proposal aims at elucidating these issues by focusing on the sparsely investigated convergence of visual and tactile information in the rat brain in vivo. In a first step, simultaneous extracellular recordings from primary sensory cortices and thalamic nuclei will be conducted to characterize the role of subcortical feedforward interactions in cross-modal processing. Second, we will decide whether multisensory experience is necessary for the maturation of cortical and subcortical visual-tactile interactions. Third, we will decide whether unisensory experience during defined developmental stages (critical periods) is mandatory for the maturation of cortical and subcortical visual-tactile interactions underlying multisensory perception.

虽然感觉加工是神经科学中一个恒定的研究主题，但它的研究主要是通过一次只考虑一种感觉通道来实现的。然而，现实世界对环境的感知依赖于来自多种感官的信息的整合。传统上，这种多感觉处理被专门分配给大脑中较高会聚的区域，如上丘或前额叶皮质，在那里神经元接受来自不同感觉的输入并将它们结合起来。最近，这一概念受到了在推测为单感觉的新皮质区域的跨通道加工的识别的挑战。我们最近证明了神经网络振荡和初级感觉皮质之间的直接连接以及皮质下前馈相互作用在视觉-躯体感觉加工中的关键作用。然而，跨通道加工的潜在机制和这些相互作用的个体发育在很大程度上仍然不清楚。目前的建议旨在通过关注在活体大鼠大脑中很少被研究的视觉和触觉信息的会聚来阐明这些问题。在第一步中，将进行来自初级感觉皮质和丘脑核团的同步细胞外记录，以表征皮质下前馈相互作用在跨模式加工中的作用。其次，我们将决定多感官体验是否对于皮质和皮质下视觉-触觉交互的成熟是必要的。第三，我们将决定在确定的发育阶段(关键期)的单一感觉经验是否对于多感觉知觉基础的皮质和皮质下视觉-触觉相互作用的成熟是强制性的。