ND COBRE: ATTENTION AND THE REPRESENTATION OF VISUAL ENVIRONMENTS

描述(由申请人提供)： 这项建议是在北达科他州立大学建立一个关于视觉神经科学的生物医学研究卓越中心(COBRE)，专门推进国家眼科研究所斜视、弱视和视觉处理计划的使命。拟议的中心将由四个主题相关的项目组成，每个项目都由一名初级调查员指导，由现场和非现场的资深科学家导师协助，审查视觉感知、视觉认知和行动的神经机制和功能意义的各个方面。这四个项目，加上拟议的核心研究实验室、新的教师招聘和行政核心设施，将有助于我们实现长期目标：发展一个才华横溢、专注于互动和协作的临界群体研究小组，致力于分析正常和功能失调状态下的视觉表现，开发对临床有用的诊断测试以评估视觉表现，了解在自然环境条件下控制眼睛运动的神经机制，了解大脑如何处理视觉信息，神经活动如何与视觉感知相关，以及视觉处理如何与支撑认知和行动的其他大脑系统相互作用。COBRE申请的具体目标是：1)为COBRE项目主任开发成功的、独立的、自给自足的研究项目，以便今后能够成功地获得R01资金；2)通过开发多用户核心实验室设施，加强NDSU的生物行为研究基础设施；3)通过增加两名在关键领域具有研究专长的教员，扩大NDSU在视觉神经科学方面的研究能力；4)在北达科他州立大学建立一个全国公认的、备受赞誉的视觉神经科学中心。这些具体目标的实现将在南洋理工大学建立一个卓越的研究中心，吸引对视觉科学研究感兴趣的高素质教师、博士后研究员和研究生。由此产生的中心将在机构培训补助金(T32)、研究项目补助金(R01)、核心补助金(P30)和基础设施发展补助金(R24)方面具有竞争力，这些补助金将使该中心在最初五年的支持之后保持下去。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is to establish a Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at North Dakota State University on the topic of VISUAL NEUROSCIENCE, which specifically advances the mission of the Strabismus, Amblyopia and Visual Processing program of the National Eye Institute. The proposed Center will consist of four thematically interrelated projects, each directed by a junior investigator, assisted by onsite and off-site senior scientist mentors, which examine various aspects of the neural mechanisms and functional significance of visual perception, visual cognition and action. These four projects, together with proposed core research laboratories, new faculty recruitments, and administrative core facilities, will be instrumental in our attaining the long-range objective: To develop a diversely talented, yet focused, interactive and collaborative research group of critical mass devoted to analyzing visual performance in normal and dysfunctional states, to develop clinically useful diagnostic tests for assessing visual performance, to understand the neural mechanisms that control eye movements under natural environmental conditions, to understand how the brain processes visual information, how neural activity is related to visual perception, and how visual processing interacts with other brain systems which underlie cognition and action. The Specific Aims of this COBRE application are: 1) To develop successful, independent, self-sustaining research projects for the COBRE Project Directors to enable future success in obtaining R01 funding; 2) To enhance the biobehavioral research infrastructure at NDSU through the development of multi-user core laboratory facilities; 3) To expand NDSU's research capability in visual neuroscience by recruiting two additional faculty members with research expertise in key areas; 4) To establish a nationally recognized and acclaimed Center for Visual Neuroscience at North Dakota State University. The realization of these Specific Aims will establish a center of research excellence at NDSU that will attract quality faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students interested in research in the visual sciences. The resulting Center will be competitive for Institutional Training Grants (T32), Research Project Grants (R01), Core Grants (P30) and Infrastructure Development Grants (R24) that will sustain the Center beyond the initial five years of support.