SENSORIMOTOR CORTEX IN PROSIMIAN PRIMATE

这些多学科研究的长期目标是 老年人躯体感觉系统的结构和功能 灵长类灵长类，加拉戈，是如何理解初级(SI) 和大脑皮质的次级投射区域 有助于提高区分触觉刺激的能力 手。最新的行为、生理和解剖学研究 婴儿和成年加拉戈，以及猕猴，导致了各种 关于并行与串联感觉加工的问题 灵长类动物的躯体感觉系统。我们最近的生理检查 对加拉戈的研究提供了手和身体的详细地图 用SII表示，用SI表示完整的身体地图。我们正在进行的 神经定量研究，使用新的质地刺激剂WE 正在研究响应特性的差异 在和SII神经元之间。在行为研究中，我们已经建立了 成年加拉戈的标准触觉能力水平，如 与猕猴和新大陆猴子进行比较，并测量了 成人与SI和SII移除相关的行为缺陷 加拉戈。婴幼儿Galago的S1和SII病变的初步研究 (与我们对幼年猕猴的研究一致)显示恢复或 在SI或SII损坏后，在触觉损坏后进行备用。我们的 成年加拉戈的解剖学研究显示了一种独立的模式 成人丘脑对SI和SII的投射，但我们最近的研究 发现SI和SII轴突侧支重叠的模式 婴儿加拉戈。根据这些最近的调查结果，建议的 研究旨在证明恢复(或备份) 婴幼儿S1、SII损伤后的触觉功能检测 婴幼儿和婴幼儿丘脑皮质连接的形态 成人，并调查如何维持正常-瞬变 络脉可能为正常触觉提供神经基础 婴儿灵长类动物损伤后的功能。Galago提供了 鉴于我们对这些研究的了解，这是一个理想的准备工作 大脑皮质的简单组织和丘脑皮质连接 这种灵长类物种中的成体和快速发育的幼体。 我们预计，对不同年龄的加拉戈的研究可能会显示：1) 婴幼儿触觉功能的恢复程度大于 成年动物；2)丘脑投射的丰富侧支 正常婴儿的BI和SII；3)维持性 SI或SII损害的一过性丘脑皮质轴突，但不是 可能提供康复机制的正常婴儿或 婴儿灵长类动物脑损伤后的功能保留。

The long-term objective of these multidisciplinary studies of the structure and function of the somatic sensory system in the prosimian primate, Galago, is to understand how the primary (SI) and secondary (SII) projection areas in the cerebral cortex contribute to the capacity to discriminate tactile stimuli with the hand. Recent behavioral, physiological and anatomical studies of infant and adult Galago, and Macaca, have led to a variety of questions about parallel vs. serial sensory processing in the somatic sensory system in primates. Our recent physiological studies on Galago have provided a detailed map of the hand and body in SII and a complete body map in SI. Our on-going neuroquantatative studies, using the new texture stimulator we developed, are examining the differences in response properties between and SII neurons. In behavioral studies we have established the level of normative tactile capacity of adult Galago, as compared to Macaca and New World monkeys, and measured the behavioral deficits associated with SI and SII removals in adult Galago. Preliminary studies of Sl and SII lesions in infant Galago (in agreement with our studies of infant Macaca) show recovery or sparing after tactile damage after SI or SII damage. Our anatomical studies of adult Galago have shown a pattern independent thalamic projections to SI and SII in adults but our recent studies find pattern of overlapping axon collaterals to SI and SII in infant Galago. Based on these recent findings the proposed research is designed to demonstrate recovery (or sparing) of tactile function after Sl and SII lesions in infants, to examine the patterns of thalamocortical connections in the infant and adult, and to investigate how maintenance of normally-transient collaterals may provide the neural basis for normal tactile function following lesions in infant primates. The Galago provides an ideal preparation for these studies given our knowledge of the simple cortical organization and thalamocortical connections in the adult and the rapid development infants in this primate species. We expect that studies of Galago at different ages may show: 1) a greater recovery of tactile function in the infant than in the adult animal; 2) abundant collaterals of thalamic projections to BI and SII in normal infants but not adults; 3) maintenance of transient thalamocortical axons in the SI- or SII-lesioned, but not the normal, infant that may provide the mechanism for recovery or sparing of function following brain damage in the infant primate.