CORTICAL EFFECTS ON THE PRIMATE SOMATOSENSORY THALAMUS

这项赠款提案的总体目的是阐明 前顶叶皮质至丘脑皮质的皮质-丘脑联系 丘脑腹基底核在躯体感觉加工中的作用 我是成年的非人类灵长类动物。大多数研究都是关于 感觉输入的加工主要集中在上升流 从丘脑到皮质的信息，尽管下行 或“反馈”预测在许多情况下比 “前馈”投射，并为 对相关感官提取和检测的影响 信息。已知的大部分关于功能性的 皮质丘脑投射的意义来自于研究 在视觉系统中进行的，这表明这一途径 能够改变丘脑感觉的感受野特性 中继神经元。虽然有一些研究试图辨别 皮质丘脑传入对大鼠脑内中继神经元反应的影响 VB丘脑，他们未能解决这样一个事实，即 在解剖和功能组织上存在差异 哺乳动物之间的体感系统。此应用程序用于 大脑皮质-丘脑内连接的功能意义 成年猕猴的体感系统 大鼠皮质丘脑神经元电活动的药理干预 APC改变VB中继神经元的反应特性。此外, 这个应用程序直接解决了通过这些机制 通过检查这些变化是否正在发生 与谷氨酸或GABA或它们的标志物的变化有关 感受器。希望这项研究将提供更大的 通过寻址理解感觉加工的复杂性 “自上而下”对正常活动的影响以及 与经验或损伤相关的神经元反应 重组的可塑性。

The general aim of this grant proposal is to elucidate the role of corticothalamic connections from anterior parietal cortex (APC) to the ventrobasal (VB) thalamus in the processing of somatic sensory information I adult non-human primates. Most studies concerning the processing of sensory input have focused on the ascending flow of information from thalamus to cortex, despite the fact that descending or "feedback" projections are in many cases more numerous than "feedforward" projections and provide a substantial substrate for influencing the extraction and detection of pertinent sensory information. Most of what is known concerning the functional significance of corticothalamic projections has come from studies conducted in the visual system, which have indicated that this pathway is capable of altering the receptive field properties of thalamic sensory relay neurons. While a few studies have attempted to discern the influence of corticothalamic input on the responses of relay neurons in the VB thalamus, they have failed to address the fact that substantial difference exist in the anatomical and functional organization of somatosensory systems between mammals. This application addresses the functional significance of corticothalamic connections within the somatosensory system of adult macaques by examining whether pharmacological interference of corticothalamic neuronal activity from APC alters the response properties of VB relay neurons. In addition, this application directly addresses the mechanisms through which these changes might be taking place by examining whether these changes are associated with alterations in markers for glutamate or GABA or their receptors. It is hoped that this research will provide a greater understanding of the complexity of sensory processing by addressing "top-down" influences over normal activity as well as changes in neuronal responses associated with experience or injury-induced reorganizational plasticity.