The impact of the environment on sensorimotor cortex in rats: Functional organization, connections and behavior

环境对大鼠感觉运动皮层的影响：功能组织、连接和行为

• 批准号: 10553708
• 负责人: LEAH ANN KRUBITZER
• 金额: $ 38.19万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-02-01 至 2026-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10553708
• 关键词: ARHGEF5 gene; Adult; Age; Anatomy; Animals; Area; Behavior; Behavioral; Birth; Body part; Brain; CDK6-associated protein p18; Complex; Coupled; Development; Discrimination; Dorsal; Electrophysiology (science); Environment; Evolution; Forelimb; Goals; Hindlimb; Individual; Laboratories; Laboratory Rat; Learning; Limb structure; Maps; Mediating; Motor; Motor Cortex; Movement; Muscle; Neocortex; Neuroanatomy; Neurons; Partner in relationship; Pattern; Performance; Population; Property; Rattus; Sensory; Shapes; Somatosensory Cortex; Speed; Spinal Cord; Stereotyping; Stimulus; System; Tactile; Tail; Techniques; Testing; Texture; Thalamic structure; Time; Walking; behavioral plasticity; early experience; environmental enrichment for laboratory animals; experience; experimental study; flexibility; grasp; inter-individual variation; kinematics; limb movement; microstimulation; motor control; multisensory; neocortical; neural; novel; postnatal; pup; receptive field; response; sensory cortex; skills; somatosensory; success; synergism

The emergence of the neocortex and its capacity to be shaped by early sensory and motor experience is the hallmark of mammalian brain evolution. This remarkable plasticity allows the neocortex to be constructed for a multi-sensory context, and to generate flexible behavior throughout a lifetime. While it is well established that early sensory experience can alter the functional organization of sensory and motor cortex, most studies have focused on either the somatosensory or the motor system in isolation, and almost exclusively studied animals reared in relatively restricted laboratory environments. Thus, the extent to which the sensory complexity, variability, and affordances of the early environment impact neural and behavioral development is unknown. Also, whether these types of dynamic environments can increase the capacity for behavioral plasticity throughout a lifetime has never been explored. In the current proposal, rats will be born and reared in two distinct environments; a laboratory cage, or in a large, highly enriched, semi-natural outdoor enclosure. We will determine if the speed with which an animal learns a sensory motor task, the accuracy of performance, and strategy by which novel tasks are learned correlate with, and can predict, differences in the functional organization, neural response properties and connections of the neocortex. We focus on areas involved in sensorimotor integration and motor control that we believe will be highly impacted by rearing condition: the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and motor cortex (M1). We will use electrophysiological recording techniques to examine the somatotopic organization and neural response properties of S1, and intracortical microstimulation techniques to determine how muscle synergies are represented in M1 and S1. We will also quantify differences in the neuroanatomical connections of M1 and S1 with other cortical fields within and across hemispheres, as well as with the dorsal thalamus and spinal cord. Finally, to determine when these distinct environments have the greatest impact on the functional organization and connections of S1 and M1, we will examine animals at 4 important developmental time points and as adults. These studies will uncover when and how early sensory experience coupled with diverse motor opportunities impact cortical organization and connectivity in the developing brain to generate context-appropriate behavior; and if dynamic and complex sensorimotor environments generate brains and bodies capable of a larger degree of behavioral plasticity throughout a lifetime.

新皮层的出现及其受早期感觉和运动体验塑造的能力是 哺乳动物脑进化的标志。这种显着的可塑性允许为A构建新皮层 多感官上下文，并在一生中生成灵活的行为。虽然已经确定了 早期的感官体验可以改变感官和运动皮层的功能组织，大多数研究具有 专注于隔离的体感或运动系统，几乎专门研究动物 在相对受限的实验室环境中饲养。因此，感觉复杂性的程度， 变异性以及早期环境的负担会影响神经和行为发展。 同样，这些类型的动态环境是否可以增加行为可塑性的能力 一生中从未探索过。在当前的提案中，大鼠将分为两点出生和饲养 不同的环境；实验室笼子，或在大型，高度丰富的半天然户外围墙中。我们 将确定动物学习感官运动任务的速度，性能的准确性以及 学习新任务的策略与功能上的差异相关并可以预测 新皮层的组织，神经反应特性和连接。我们专注于涉及的领域 我们认为，饲养条件会严重影响的感觉运动集成和电动机控制： 原发性体感皮层（S1）和运动皮层（M1）。我们将使用电生理记录 检查S1的体型组织和神经反应特性的技术和心脏内部 微刺激技术以确定M1和S1中肌肉协同作用的表示。我们也会 量化M1和S1神经解剖连接的差异与内部其他皮质场的差异 整个半球以及背丘脑和脊髓。最后，确定何时 不同的环境对S1和M1的功能组织和连接具有最大的影响， 我们将在4个重要的发育时间点和成年人中检查动物。这些研究将发现 何时以及如何早期的感觉经验以及各种汽车机会影响皮层组织 和发展中的大脑中的连通性，以产生背景 - 适当的行为；如果动态和复杂 感觉运动环境会产生能够具有较大行为可塑性的大脑和身体 一生。