Cortical Responses To Single & Multi-Site Skin Stimuli

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请中提出的实验的主要目标是识别可以解释（即，用作SI相关），用于由单部位和多部位皮肤刺激的选定条件诱发的感知体验。每个实验都将通过使用近红外光学固有信号（OIS）成像和单个神经元锋电位放电活动的细胞外记录的方法的新颖且强大的组合来获得对每个刺激条件的全局和单个神经元响应的测量。提出了两个系列的组合OIS成像/神经生理记录实验。在第一系列（系列I）中，将获得由单部位皮肤刺激诱发的全局和单个神经元响应，用于仅在幅度上不同的皮肤扑动刺激。本系列的每个实验将使用与已发表的人类心理物理学研究中使用的相同幅度范围，这些研究是关于扑动幅度对感知强度的影响。系列II实验将评估SI对双部位皮肤扑动刺激的反应-他们将寻求识别SI与已建立的感知现象（例如，空间压缩、强度调制等）人类心理物理学研究已经在多部位皮肤刺激的可比条件下证明了这一点。总的来说，在系列I和II实验中获得的信息应该能够量化SI皮质内的地形和cytoarchitectonically不同区域之间的刺激导向的相互作用-尽管在理论上预测了相当大的潜在功能重要性的相互作用，但迄今为止尚未在任何实验研究中发表。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goal of the experiments proposed in this application is to identify dimensions of SI cortical neuroelectrical activity that could account (i.e., serve as the SI correlate) for the perceptual experiences evoked by selected conditions of single- and multi-site skin stimulation. Every experiment will obtain measures of both the global and single neuron responses to each stimulus condition by using a novel and powerful combination of the methods of near-infrared optical intrinsic signal (OIS) imaging and extracellular recording of single neuron spike discharge activity. Two series of combined OIS imaging/neurophysiological recording experiments are proposed. In the first series (Series I), the global and single neuron responses evoked by single-site skin stimulation will be obtained for skin flutter stimuli that differ only in amplitude. Each experiment of this series will use the same range of amplitudes used in published human psychophysical studies of the effects of flutter amplitude on perceived intensity. The Series II experiments will evaluate the responses of SI to dual-site skin flutter stimulation - they will seek to identify SI correlates for well-established perceptual phenomena (e.g., spatial compression, intensity modulation, etc.) that human psychophysical studies have demonstrated under comparable conditions of multi-site skin stimulation. Collectively, the information obtained in the Series I and II experiments should enable quantification of stimulus-directed interactions between topographically and cytoarchitectonically distinct regions within SI cortex - interactions of considerable potential functional importance which although predicted on theoretical grounds, have not been addressed in any experimental study published to date.