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确定SI皮质神经电活动的维度，这些活动可以解释（即作为SI相关）由单点和多点皮肤刺激的选定条件所引起的感知体验。每个实验都将使用新颖而强大的近红外光学固有信号（OIS）成像和单个神经元放电活动的细胞外记录相结合的方法，获得对每种刺激条件的整体和单个神经元反应的测量。提出了两组OIS成像/神经生理记录联合实验。在第一个系列（系列1）中，将获得单位点皮肤刺激对仅在振幅上不同的皮肤颤振刺激所引起的全局和单神经元反应。本系列的每个实验都将使用与已发表的关于颤振振幅对感知强度影响的人类心理物理学研究相同的振幅范围。系列II实验将评估SI对双部位皮肤颤振刺激的反应——他们将寻求确定SI与已建立的感知现象（例如，空间压缩、强度调制等）的相关性，这些知觉现象是人类心理物理学研究在多部位皮肤刺激的可比条件下证明的。总的来说，在系列I和系列II实验中获得的信息应该能够量化SI皮层中地形和细胞结构不同区域之间的刺激定向相互作用-相互作用具有相当大的潜在功能重要性，尽管在理论基础上进行了预测，但迄今为止尚未在任何发表的实验研究中得到解决。

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.