NEURAL CONTROL OF THE REACH-TO-GRASP

描述(改编自申请者摘要)：本报告的总体目标 研究是为了了解神经系统是如何控制肢体运动的。 我们选择研究的肢体运动是伸展到抓住一个 物体-一项复杂的任务，需要使用感官信息来 协调整个肢体的肌肉。许多物种的生存， 包括人类在内，取决于以速度和速度执行伸手抓住 精确度。尽管触手可及的重要性，但人们对此知之甚少 关于它的控制，因为很少有研究从神经系统记录 在伸手抓握的过程中。我们的实验室记录了 猫和猴子在伸手抓住一个细胞时大脑中的单个细胞 对象。数据表明，神经系统的主要部分 (中间小脑及相关结构)参与控制 抓得紧，够不着。也就是说，神经系统的不同部分 控制运动的不同部分；这代表着一个重要的 前进到我们对运动控制的理解。 这项提案中概述的研究将确定紧张的部分 在伸手抓握过程中控制伸展的系统。控制 肩部和上臂肌肉依赖于起源于 网状结构。我们将从网状结构中的神经元记录 猫和猴子的队形，当它们伸手抓住并提供 有关如何控制到达的信息。解剖学研究将 识别为网状区控制提供输入的神经结构 REACH，我们将在这些地区进行额外的录音研究 结构，以了解它们如何有助于伸展到抓住。这个 数据将提供第一个控制神经系统的详细轮廓 复杂的前肢运动，还提供了有关如何 大脑的不同区域协同工作，使运动顺畅， 很精确。关于神经系统如何控制运动的知识将帮助我们 了解并可能治疗影响 运动和贬低许多人的生活。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): The overall goal of this research is to understand how the nervous system controls limb movements. The limb movement that we have chosen to study is reaching to grasp an object - a complex task that requires using sensory information to coordinate muscles of the entire limb. The survival of many species, including humans, depends upon performing the reach-to-grasp with speed and accuracy. Despite the importance of the reach-to-grasp, little is known about its control, since few studies have recorded from the nervous system during the reach-to-grasp. Our laboratory has recorded neural activity of single cells in the brains of cats and monkeys while they reach to grasp an object. The data demonstrate that major divisions of the nervous system (intermediate cerebellum and related structures) are involved in control of the grasp but not the reach. That is, different parts of the nervous system control different parts of the movement; this represents an important advance to our understanding of motor control. The research outlined in this proposal will identify parts of the nervous system that control the reach during the reach-to-grasp. Control of the shoulder and muscles of the upper arm depends upon pathways originating in the reticular formation. We will record from neurons in the reticular formation of cats and monkeys while they make the reach-to-grasp and provide information about how reaching is controlled. Anatomical studies will identify neural structures providing input to reticular regions controlling the reach, and we will conduct additional recording studies in those structures to understand how they contribute to the reach-to-grasp. The data will provide the first detailed outline of neural systems controlling a complex forelimb movement and also provide valuable information about how different regions of the brain work together to make movements smooth and precise. Knowledge of how the nervous system controls movement will help us understand, and possibly treat, the diseases and injuries that affect movement and detract from the lives of many people.