Retention and generalization of cross-sensory recalibration in hand perception

学习一项新的运动技能涉及到我们如何感知周围世界和我们如何感知身体各部分之间的复杂互动。例如，学习使用电脑鼠标需要将屏幕上的光标与大脑对手的表征联系起来。该项目将研究身体表征中此类变化的潜在过程、变化如何随着时间的推移而保留，以及它们如何推广到其他环境。这对于涉及身体表示的修改的任何应用尤其重要，例如当使用假体设备或在虚拟现实中移动时。例如，这些结果应该为培训工业，军事或医疗环境中的技术人员提供基础，以操作遥控机器人接口，以便身体表示的学习变化随着时间的推移保持稳定，因此操作员可以在未经训练的活动中快速适应。调查员还将授权学生探索STEM职业：一个免费的虚拟夏令营，“有神经的女孩”，将提供给来自印第安纳波利斯一个大而多样化的学区的高中女生，沿着的是在学年期间亲自参观实验室，对所有学生开放。在技能学习过程中大脑对身体的表征的变化很少被研究，与运动本身的变化相比。该项目的一个重要创新是使用身体位置感（本体感觉）和视觉信号来测试身体表征的变化，身体位置感（本体感觉）来自肌肉中的传感器，视觉信号来自观察自己的运动身体。来自多个来源的感觉信号的整合（多感觉整合）是大脑的基本特性。通过一系列的接触和感知实验，研究人员将确定有助于身体表征更新的多感官因素，这些因素对技能学习很重要。研究结果将为多感官知觉和运动学习的感觉运动控制理论框架提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Learning a new motor skill involves complex interactions between how we perceive the world around us and how we perceive the parts of our body. For example, learning to use a computer mouse involves linking a cursor on a screen to the brain’s representation of the hand. This project will examine the processes underlying such changes in body representation, how changes are retained over time, and how they generalize to other contexts. This is particularly important for any application that involves modification of the body representation, such as when using prosthetic devices or moving in virtual reality. For example, the results should provide a basis for training technicians in industrial, military, or medical settings to operate a telerobotic interface so that the learned changes in body representation remain stable over time and so the operator can quickly adapt when in an untrained activity. The investigator will also empower students to explore STEM careers: a free virtual summer camp, “Girls with Nerve,” will be offered to high school girls from a large and diverse school district in Indianapolis, along with in-person laboratory visits during the school year that are open to all students.Changes in the brain’s representation of the body during skill learning have been little investigated, compared with changes in the movement itself. An important innovation of this project is to test changes in body representation using both body position sense (proprioception), which arises from sensors in the muscles, and visual signals, which arise from viewing one’s own moving body. Integration of sensory signals from multiple sources (multisensory integration) is a fundamental property of the brain. Through a series of reaching and perception experiments, the researchers will determine the multisensory factors that contribute to the updates in body representation that are important for skill learning. Results will inform a theoretical framework of sensorimotor control that accounts for both multisensory perception and motor learning.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.