CEREBRAL ORGANIZATION FOLLOWING COCHLEAR IMPLANT

描述（由申请人提供）：植入人工耳蜗后，听觉皮层在剥夺一段时间后建立听觉信号处理的能力方面表现出显著的可塑性。我们的长期目标是了解和定义非初级听觉皮层在人工耳蜗植入后建立听觉功能的能力。这一奋进需要阐明的基本贡献，非初级听觉皮层的基本听觉引导行为的完整（听力）的条件下，以及评估的行为能力的非初级听觉皮层人工耳蜗植入先天性耳聋的科目。本申请的第一个具体目标是确定非初级听觉皮层包含用于处理模式感知和空间定位的专门区域。在完整的猫，我们将检查的贡献，前和后听觉领域（AAF和PAF，分别）作出的模式识别和感知的听觉空间。每个区域将可逆地失活与冷却，我们希望能够双重解离模式的歧视和空间定位功能，AAF和PAF皮层，分别。研究的第二个目的是确定在发育早期（2个月大）植入人工耳蜗的先天性耳聋（CD）猫是否可以建立听觉介导的行为。我们将测试动物是否能够在目标1中检查的听觉辨别、检测和定位任务上达到高性能水平。前两个目标的结果在目标3中汇总，我们将联合收割机结合目标2中检查的CD猫和目标1中使用的可逆失活技术，以确定早期耳蜗植入后是否建立了非初级听觉皮层的特征性正常功能制图。为了实现这一点，我们将可逆地失活AAF和PAF皮质的CD猫与人工耳蜗植入体，同时执行上述的听觉任务电池，并比较结果与目标1中的完整的猫。这些研究的结果将直接适用于幼儿人工耳蜗植入功能结局的临床情况。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Following implantation of a cochlear prosthetic, auditory cortex exhibits a remarkable plasticity in its ability to establish auditory signal processing after a period of deprivation. Our long-term goal is to understand and define the capabilities of non-primary auditory cortex to establish auditory function following cochlear implant. This endeavor requires the elucidation of the essential contributions that non-primary auditory cortex makes to fundamental aurally-guided behaviors in the intact (hearing) condition, as well as an assessment of the behavioral capabilities of non-primary auditory cortex following cochlear implant in congenitally deaf subjects. The first specific aim of this application is to determine that non-primary auditory cortex contains specialized regions for the processing of pattern perception and spatial localization. In intact cats, we will examine the contributions that the anterior and posterior auditory fields (AAF and PAF, respectively) make to pattern recognition and the perception of auditory space. Each area will be reversibly deactivated with cooling and we expect to be able to doubly-dissociate pattern discrimination and spatial localization functions to AAF and PAF cortices, respectively. The second aim in the study is to determine if congenitally deaf (CD) cats with cochlear prosthetics implanted early in development (2 months of age) can establish aurally-mediated behaviors. We will test if the animals are able to attain high performance levels on the auditory discrimination, detection, and localization tasks examined in Aim 1. The results of the first two aims are brought together in Aim 3, where we will combine the CD cats with cochlear implants examined in Aim 2 with the reversible deactivation techniques used in Aim 1 to determine if the characteristic normal functional cartography of non-primary auditory cortex is established following early cochlear implantation. To accomplish this, we will reversibly deactivate AAF and PAF cortices in the CD cats with cochlear implants while performing the battery of auditory tasks described above, and compare the results with those from the intact cats in Aim 1. The results from these studies will be directly applicable to clinical situations concerning the functional outcomes of cochlear implants in young children.